COUNTRY CLERGY 



OF 



PENNSYLVANIA 



t/r, BY 

REV. S. F. HOTCHKIN, M. A. 

AUTHOR OF 

The Mornings of the Bible, Early Clergy of Penn- 
sylvania and Delaware, History of 
Germantown, etc. 



-u 



— 



P. W. ZIEGLER & CO., Publishers, 

No. 720 Chestnut Street, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 

1890, 





-'H lr " J ■- 
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*" *' T ' " x J. , 






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Copyright, 1890, by Rev. S. F. Hotckkin. 



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THIS BOOK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO 

The RT. REV. BISHOPS HOWE AND RULISON, 
of Central Pennsylvania, 

and 

The PvT. REV. BISHOP WHITEHEAD, 

OF PITTSBURGH. 



* 



^ 



fN 



PREFACE. 

This work is a continuation of the "Early Clergy of 
Pennsylvania and Delaware." That book treated of 
Philadelphia mainly, as far as Pennsylvania was con- 
cerned. This one embraces the State, outside of Phil- 
adelphia, (with a few exceptions), which was all a country 
district when our narratives begin ; so that the title is ap- 
propriate, though cities and towns are here considered. 
The volume gives specimens of country clerical life. In 
England the "Country Parson," George Herbert, at Bem- 
erton, who could move the farmer to stop his plough for a 
weekday service, and Hooker, at Bishop's Bourne, see- 
ing " God's blessings spring out of the earth, free from 
noise," and Keble in the Hursley vicarage are pleasant 
pictures, but the American church can show many like 
them. It were to be wished that every parish could 
have a volume prepared to note the lives of clergy and 
laymen and women who have served God in Christian 
faith. 

A clergyman wrote me of one dignitary, that he w s 
what he was largely through the influence of his mother 
and wife, and this is true in general. If some rector' , 
wife would sketch the lives of the ministers and wives 
of bishops and noted clergy she would be doing a good 
deed. The effect of a rectory on a parish is an import- 
ant factor in church life. 

The author thanks the clergy and others who have 
loaned plates for this work, and specially Hon. W. A. 
Morton ; and J. M. W. Geist, of the New Era, Lancaster, 
for furnishing the steel-plate portrait of Bishop Bowman, 

(s) 



6 PREFACE. 

and the illustrations of St. James's and St. John's 
Church edifices. 

Samuel Clarkson, Esq., of Philadelphia has also given 
aid in illustrating Lancaster parish. 

For accounts of Huntington and York Springs see 
" Gettysburg;" and for Mount Hope, Manheim and 
Jonestown, see " Lebanon." 

Rectory of the ' 

Memorial Church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician, 

Bustleton, Phila., Feb. nth, A. D, 1891. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Venerable Society for the Propagation of the 
Gospel in Foreign Parts was chartered, A. D. 1701, "by 
the great deliverer, King William III." For over 70 years 
this Church of England Society expended ^5000 per 
annum in America, providing needy places "with min- 
isters and public worship of God." The folio account 
of the Society, prepared by Rev. Mr. Stubs, was printed 
in 1704. Bishop Wm. Stevens Perry's Historical Col- 
lections give the Reports of Pennsylvania Missionaries. 
Rev. Dr. David Humphreys was the Secretary of the 
Society in 1 730. In 1 747, Rev. Dr. Philip Bearcroft held 
the office, and in 1762 Rev. Mr. Neill mentions his death 
as much regretted by the Missionaries. 

In the Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delazuare, in 
the sketch of Dr. Bedell, pp. 269, 270, may be found a 
notice of a patriarchal lay-reader in North Carolina, and 
Samuel Gunn, in Ohio, deserves remembrance. Richard 
Grafton, in Philadelphia, and Nathaniel Walton, the 
Frankford lay-reader and catechist, were useful in pro- 
vincial days. There were vacancies in the churches by 
the deaths and removals of Missionaries, and the clergy 
had more work than they could perform ; though the Pro- 
pagation Society strove to send the Gospel to the waiting 
parishes. Rev. Wm. Becket of Lewes, Delaware, 
reports two churches built before there was a prospect 
of a minister, but lay-reading served to keep the people 
steady in church principles. Still the clergy were valued, 
and "unwearied solictations" went from the province of 
Pennsylvania to England from vacant churches. If 
there had been more clergy the Church would have had 

(7) 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

a brighter story to tell. In 1726 Governor Gordon wrote 
the Bishop of London that the people were inclined to 
the Church, and that she was gaining ground everywhere 
where there were officiating clergy. 

Rowland Jones was a patient schoolmaster, who taught 
children the Bible and the Catechism. The Bible was a 
text-book jn school. One girl committed the Gospel of 
St. John to memory. 

In 174°, Ebenezer Kennersly, a preacher among the 
Baptists, became a churchman, and desired to be a 
Missionary. When the Bishop of London gave 200 
volumes of his sermons to Pennsylvania churches, the 
three " lower counties," (now the State of Delaware), 
received a part of them, and 14 were ordered by the 
voluntary convention of 1760 to be given "to the Min- 
isters of other denominations." 

The reports to the Propagation Society show the pov- 
trty of the indefatigable missionaries and the indifference 
and opposition of some, contrasting with the zeal and 
generosity of individuals and parishes, especially in 
church-building. 

The German Lutherans in coetus frequently proposed 
union with the English Church, and several of their 
clergy wished to address the Archbishop of Canterbury 
and the Bishop of London on the subject. A large con- 
gregation of Dutch Calvinists in Philadelphia offered to 
conform to the Church of England if the gentleman 
whom they presented could be ordained. Perry's His- 
torical Collections (Pa.), pp. 396-8. 

In connection with the present church work among the 
Indians, it is interesting to note that Rev. Mr. Stuart, at 
Fort Hunter, could read a part of the morning service in 
the Mohawk language for the Indians. He also officiated 
for the whites, and was "a most zealous and faithful 
laborer in the vineyard," 



COUNTRY CLERGY. 

CHAPTER I. 
Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge. 

AN interesting memoir of this good man was writ- 
ten by his daughter Narcissa. In the edition of 
the Doctor's "Settlement and Indian Wars of 
Virginia and Pennsylvania," edited by Alfred Williams, 
there is also a sketch of his life by Judge Thomas Scott, 
of Chilicothe. This edition was published by Joel Mun- 
sell at Albany, New York. The first edition was printed 
at Wellsburgh, Virginia, at the office of the Gazette, for 
the author. It is in the Ridgway Library, Philadelphia, 
and was issued in 1824. Munaell's edition is in the 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, but I cull 
my notes from a type written copy of the memoir kindly 
sent for my use by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Whitehead, the 
Bishop of -Pittsburgh, who has aided my labors. 

The Bishop spoke of the work of this pioneer mis- 
sionary in his Convention address of 1887. 

Joseph Doddridge was the son of John and Mary 
Doddridge, and was born at Friends' Cove, near Bedford, 
Pennsylvania, in 1768. He was a relative of Rev. Philip 
Doddridge, the celebrated English writer, who was the 
son of Rev. John Doddridge, an English rector. In 
1773, when Joseph was a child, his father moved to 
Washington County, Pa., near the Virginia line. This 
was then the wilderness West, and the Indians held the 
larger part of the country. Dr. Doddridge's book gives 

(9) 



10 REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. 

a vivid picture of the-rude life and free manners of the 
early white settlers, as well as of Indian life. He was 
an observant man, and had wide opportunities for gather- 
ing notes. His earnest piety is evident in his early life. 
The Word of God was his guide. His mother died 
when he was eight years old, and the lad was sent to 
Maryland to school ; but when seventeen aided his 
father a part of the time on the farm, and spent a por- 
tion of the time in educating himself. A scholarly 
friend, Mr. Johnson, advanced his studies. The lad's 
father was a Wesleyan and built a chapel on his farm 
for a church and a school. The son became a promising 
travelling preacher. The Doddridge Chapel is stated to 
have been the first house erected for the worship of God 
w r est of the Alleghenies. After his father's death Joseph 
entered Jefferson Academy, at Canonsburg, Pa. The 
Wesleyans having laid aside the prayer book prepared 
for them by their founder, young Doddridge sought the 
Episcopal Church as more congenial to his views, and 
in 1 792 was ordained deacon by Bishop White, in Phila- 
delphia. Several years after the same Bishop ordained 
him a priest in the same city. He was a good and in- 
structive preacher. About iSco Mr. Doddridge moved 
to Charlestown in what is now West Virginia. He was 
rector at Charlestown of St. John's Church for more than 
thirty years, and did good service also at Wheeling and 
other places as a zealous missionary in a new land. 
He wrote Bishop Moore, of Virginia, that he was striv- 
ing to prepare the state of Ohio for the Episcopate as he 
thought it needed, as there was a bishop in Pennsyl- 
vania, and another in Virginia. He was a devoted 
churchman, and as the early American clergy cried to 
England for the Episcopate, so did he continually strive 
to awaken the East to the need of such an office in the 



REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. II 

West. If the Episcopate had been earlier given, the 
scattered sheep might have been collected to the great 
benefit of the Church. In 1S10 a few clergymen held a 
meeting and authorized Dr. Doddridge to communicate 
with Bishop White about the much-needed Episcopate ; 
and, eventually, Bishop Philander Chase was consecrated 
for Ohio. The appeals of Dr. Doddridge are touch- 
ing and pitiful. He made missionary journeys in Ohio, 
baptizing many children. The wife of Dr. Doddridge 
was Jemima, daughter of Captain John Bukey. Many 
of the settlers about the missionary had been brought 
up in the English Church, and were cheered by the 
presence of a Church clergyman. The trees often 
served as temples, when like Adam the worshipers 
adored God under the open sky. The people were 
generally poor, and the missionary determined to add 
the profession of medicine to his clerical duties, that he 
might obtain a living for his family. In 1800 he com- 
pleted his medical course of study under Dr. Benjamin 
Rush, in the Medical Institute of Philadelphia. He was 
successful as a physician, and highly esteemed by his 
brethren in that profession. He was elected a cor- 
responding member of the Academy of Natural Sciences 
in Philadelphia. 

The Doctor "was tall and muscular;" his hair was 
dark, and his eyes grey, and his appearance striking. 
He was a good conversationalist and accessible. His 
manner was simple and his demeanor courteous, and he 
was agreeable and was fond of children, whom he kindly 
greeted with a pleasant smile. Servants and those en- 
gaged in labor were saluted by him cheeringly. He 
was industrious and domestic. When well he rose at 
four for meditation and literary study, and blamed those 
who slumbered when God gave them light freely, and 



12 REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. 

then purchased light for night study. He lived simj 

and was benevolent to the afflicted, sometimes removing 
the sick poor to his own house for gratuitous treatment. 
He was fond of music and led his own congregation 
generally, when choirs and organs were not. He de- 
lighted in horticulture and bee culture, and loved bird 
music, and in the morning joined his hymn of praise to 
God with theirs. He would not allow the birds to be 
molested on his place, but taught the children that the 
fruits were to be shared with them, as they were the 
creation of God who made human beings also. He put 
out a treatise entitled, " Culture of Bees," in which he 
explained his kind plan of colonizing instead of killing 
the bees. He was fond of rustic matters, and made a 
den as a home for some free squirrels who amused him, 
but he would not imprison them. He did not like to 
view 4< a bird in a cage, or an animal tied by the neck." 

The exposure of medical work in a new country broke 
the constitution of the missionary, which was not strong ; 
in later years he suffered much. 

Dr. Doddridge wrote a work entitled, " Lo^an, the 
Last of the Race of Shikillimies. A Dramatic Piece," 
and " Dialogue between a Dandy and a Backwoods- 
man," and "some sermons an special subjects." 

In 1824, in travelling through Pennsylvania, he writes 
from Bedford to his wife of the beautiful scenery viewed 
on the journey, and the thought in his poor health that 
his senses would soon fail to show him these grand 
mountains or quieter scenes so much admired ; but he 
thanked God that he could expect by faith to enter a 
land of eternal beauty and peaceful prosperity, where 
the weariness and pain that now afflicted him would 
depart. He preached at Somerset and baptized two 
children, thus continuing his missionarv work. There 



5E. J 5 

is an interestii n :■:" the famed Bedford 

Springs and oi the town ::" Bedford. 

Dr. Doddridge attended a special convention of the 

:ese of Ohio at icothe, to meet Bishop Chase 

on his return "from his first visit to England " to obtain 
funds tor hi- great educational plans. The missionary 
took charge :f St. James's Church. Zanesville. His 
poor health had induced him some time before to give 
up "his parishes in Virginia and Eastern Ohio," and to 
relinquish the practice rf the me : on account of 

emanding exposure to weather, and riding on horse- 
back. For several months he performed his clerical 
duties at Zanesville. but when the Spring came he was 
y attacked with pneumonia, which brought him 
near death. When he grew a little better he wrote that 
his life -sing away, and that " the prospect of 

as ^::hliar to his mind, and that it was by nc 
unpleasant. 1 Reeves died in 1825 

in Christian hope. The Doctor visited his sister, Mrs. 
Reeves, in Chilic : the. His friend J. 5 : ; tt then describes 
him;.- ; entlysoon :: leave earthly 

scenes. The faith that he had inculcated on others now 
supported him. He dc ^ath. Some time passed. 

however, before lie and he made another journey 

for improvement in health, without avail. Leaning on 
Christ's atoning mercy and merits he fearlessly looked 
for the end. He died in Wellsburgh, Brooke County, 
Virginia. November 9th. A. D. 1826, being in his 57th 
year. 

Rev. Air. Asbury requested Dr. Doddridge to study 
German. He could preach in German, and found his 
knowledge of use in after years in conversing with the 
German pop ulati :>n. 

When the clergy met in Washington County, Pennsyl- 
vania, they desired to unite the western counties of 



14 REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. 

Pennsylvania with Western Virginia, Ohio and other 
Western States under a bishop. A meeting of the 
clergy was held September, 1803. The Rev. Messrs. 
Francis Reno, Seaton, Robert Ayres and Doddridge 
were present. They " adjourned to meet on General 
Neville's old place on Chartiers Creek, Pa., not far from 
Pittsburgh." 

The love of the scattered flock for the Church was 
shown on one occasion when, in 1815, Dr. Doddridge 
went seventy-five miles from his home to preach a 
funeral sermon, according to a request made by a 
patriarch before his decease, who had been before re- 
moval his parishioner. One who accompanied him 
describes the "arrival at the commodious mansion of 
the departed, where the preacher was welcomed by a 
large concourse of his children, grandchildren and 
neighbors, who had assembled to hear the words of 
eternal life from his lips, and to do honor to the memory 
of the deceased, at whose dying request they were 
called together on this occasion." 

A sketch of Dr. Doddridge is appropriate in this 
volume, because his name is associated so closely with 
the early work of the Church in Western Pennsylvania, 
and with the efforts to secure a Western bishop. He 
must be numbered with our honorable toilers in a day 
when hardships were many, and the greatest encourage- 
ment was the smile of God, rather than visible success; 
but he sowed that others might reap, and if he can see 
the number of bishops who now water the field which 
he traversed, his soul must rejoice at the goodness of 
God in accomplishing his desires. 

Bishop Whitehead in his Centennial Address to the 
Diocesan Convention of Pittsburgh in 1887, in the year 
commemorating Bishop White's consecration a century 
before, says : 



REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. 15 

"The impulse given by that single visit of Bishop 
White in 1825 has never been permitted to lose its force. 
At that time there were but ten clergymen within the 
region now composing the Diocese of Pittsburgh. They 
were as follows : The Rev. John P. Bailsman, Jr., Fay- 
ette County ; the Rev. John H. Hopkins, Trinity Church, 
Pittsburgh ; the Rev. Robert Ayres, Brownsville ; the 
Rev. Francis Reno, Beaver Count}- ; the Rev. John 
Taylor, Pittsburgh ; the Rev. Moses P. Bennett, Kittan- 
ning and Butler ; the Rev. Charles Smith, Meadville ; 
the Rev. H. H. Peiffer, Brownsville; the Rev. D. C. 
Page, Greensburg ; the Rev. Wm. R. Bowman, Browns- 
ville. 

" There were five parishes organized. (Trinity, Pitts- 
burgh ; Christ Church, Meadville ; Christ Church, 
Brownsville; St. John's, Franklin, and Christ Church, 
Greensburg), but it is difficult, if not impossible, to 
ascertain exactly the number of congregations which 
these ten clergymen served. Bishop White seems to 
have visited Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Connellsville and 
Brownsville, besides Wheeling, in Virginia, and several 
places in Central Pennsylvania. 

" He confirmed over two hundred candidates, almost 
all of them the first fruits of the ministry of the Rev. 
John H. Hopkins, afterwards Bishop of Vermont. 
From that visit the Church in Western Pennsylvania 
renewed its hope for the future. 

" With the consecration of Bishop Onderdonk in 1S27, 
a vigorous policy took its rise ; and 'heroic feet' were 
those which followed his over the Western portion of the 
state. To-day there are hundreds who revere and love 
the memories of the great Alonzo Potter, the sainted 
Bowman, the beloved Stevens. 

" With the organization of this Diocese of Pittsburgh 
came redoubled energy, and no record of Episcopal 



1 6 REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. 

vigor and devotion can surpass that which tells of the 
trials, unwearied journeys, and far reaching labors of 
my ever venerated predecessor, the noble Dr. Kerfoot." 



REV. BERNARD PAGE, A. M. I 7 



CHAPTER II. 

Rev. Bernard Page, A. M. 

IN the collections of the Wyoming Historical and 
Geological Society, Vol. II., pp. 206, &c, is an 
account of the life of Rev. Bernard Page, the first 
Episcopal clergyman of Wyoming, in A. D. 1772. By 
Sheldon Reynolds, Esq. The writer states that the 
education and secular influence of the primitive clergy- 
man gave him influence in the new settlements. 

Mr. Page was ordained in London, and assigned to 
Wyoming parish in 1772, though he had been in Wilkes- 
Barre the previous year. He had the martyr spirit and 
undertook the work against the warnings of his friends. 
He came to his work with no call from the people, and 
no promise of support, simply obeying Christ's com- 
mand to "preach the Gospel." 

Land troubles concerning the Connecticut Colony 
and Pennsylvania interests were disturbing, the country. 
The Yankees had been driven from the Valley five 
times, and yet returned and captured Fort Wyoming, 
and would not allow Mr. Page to preach in the Block 
House, through unjust but natural fear as to his in- 
tention. He wrote a burning letter to both parties, 
offering his spiritual remedies for wounded souls, and 
offered to fight the Lord's battle with the Shield of 
Faith and the Sword of the Spirit ; but held up the 
Deluge and Sodom and Nineveh as a warning to those . 
who would not hear, though he hoped to present many 



1 8 REV. BERNARD PAGE, A. M. 

to King Jesus for a free pardon. He hoped that they 
would receive the savor of life. He longed for the sal- 
vation of souls, though he had been warned that he 
might be killed if he went to Wyoming. He declared 
himself willing to die in such a cause, and went. He 
pronounced himself neutral in the secular quarrel, (as 
both parties feared interference), and desired that those 
who may come to hear his sermon in the open air may 
not be molested. 

Mr. Page returned to London for ordination, and was 
sent back as a missionary of the Propagation Society. 
He labored in a wide district. In Rev, Mr. Fithian's 
Journal he notes his being near Muncey in 1775. Ac- 
cording to Bolton's History of West Chester Count}', 
N. Y., he appears to have been at St. Peter's, Peekskill, 
for a short time. He moved to Virginia, and is men- 
tioned in Bishop Meade's "Old Churches of Virginia." 
He assisted Lord Bryan Fairfax, rector of old Christ 
Church, Alexandria ; and was at Shepherdstown, and 
Mrs. Shepherd commended him highly, as zealous and 
pious. He died in the lower part of Virginia. He was 
assisting at Christ Church when Washington was an 
attendant. 



REV. WIILIAM ELDRED. 1 9 



CHAPTER III. 
Rev. William Eldred. 

REV. BENJAMIN ALLEN, the zealous rector of 
St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, did much hard 
work in writing and printing and circulating 
good Christian literature. He opened a place for the 
sale of books that the Prayer Book might be sold 
cheaply, as well as other religious books. He wrote a 
narrative of the " Labors, Sufferings, and Final Triumph 
of Rev. William Eldred." The text: II. Tim. 2:12, 
" Jf we suffer we shall also reign with Him," adorns the 
title-page. 

Mr. Eldred was born in the north of England. " He 
was an humble, devout, self-denying evangelist." He 
was fond oi poetry in early life, and in later years the 
repetition of hymns cheered his missionary journeys, 
as he passed through the forests of this new land. 
Finding on the floor a piece of the Gospel of St. John, 
containing "a command to preach the Gospel," he felt 
it addressed to himself. He studied law, but wished 
higher occupation. An elderly religious woman in 
London kept alive his sacred desires for a holy life. A 
Hindoo taught him the Bengalee language, and he was 
the means of converting his teacher, who died in the 
Christian faith. Mr. Eldred wished to go as a mission- 
ary to Hindostan, but as he had a large family he was 
not accepted. He, however, visited Lascar sailors in 
London, and gave them portions of Scripture. He lived 



2 REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. 

several miles out of London, and walked into the city 
in the morning and out in the evening. When living in 
London he went on Sunday mornings twelve or fourteen 
miles to a village, where he would gather the children 
for instruction. He emigrated to Western Pennsylvania, 
where he visited an uncle at'Elklands. His wife and 
his six children were being conveyed in an ox-cart over 
a mountain when night closed in, and while wife and 
children slept in the cart he watched lest the oxen should 
push the cart over a precipice, while the animals 
trembled for fear at a panther's cry. He moved from his 
uncle's residence to Muncey, and in the cold and icy 
rain as the family walked down a mountain, the infant, 
already ill, was so affected by the cold that death 
ensued. Mr. Eldred afterward moved to Jersey Shore, 
and took the Academy; and thence, with Rev. Caleb 
Hopkins, he went to Philadelphia to study theology 
with Bishop White. He studied under the disadvantage 
of poverty, and walked i6o miles and back in going to 
Philadelphia for examination by the Bishop. He moved 
to Greenwood, and was ordained deacon. He officiated 
at Greenwood, Bloomsburg, St. Gabriel's, Sugar Loaf 
and Muncey, and generally walked ; but his father gave 
him some books on theology and a little money, and he 
bought a dearborn for his journeys. Dark nights and 
severe weather did not deter him from meeting his ap- 
pointments. When he died he had twelve places of 
service. He sometimes spent the night in the woods, 
tying his horse to the wheel of his wagon. Once a 
panther disturbed his rest "on an old log." In 1825 a 
clergyman visited Mr. Eldred, and saw the hovel in 
which he lived, and did not know his friend as he beheld 
him in the coarse garb of a laborer with bare feet. He 
cultivated "a few acres" of ground, and his children 



REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. 2 1 

aided him. The people were attached to their laborious 
pastor, and his labors were blessed of God. The wife 
was the daughter of a wealthy English manufacturer, 
and Mr. Eldred could have remained as a lawyer in 
London. The Advancement Society Reports mention 
his indefatigable and successful work in Lycoming, 
Columbia and Northumberland Counties. He estab- 
lished a Church Sunday-school at Pennsborough. Rev. 
Mr. Dupuy was at work in Bloomsburg and Jersey 
Town with success. Milton was under the care of Mr. 
Eldred. He considered Pottsville and Orwigsburg 
"very important places for a missionary station." In 
going and returning from conventions he had preached 
in these places. He writes, " Pottsville is rapidly in- 
creasing. I have been credibly informed that fifty 
families are "waiting to remove there as soon as habita- 
tions can be raised for them." He declares that it is 
rapidly rising "in commercial importance," and he 
notices improvements in successive visits. He says, 
"no inconsiderable portion of the inhabitants are in 
favor of our Church." He notes in his field of labor a 
manifest increase in attention "to the Sacraments, the 
use of the Prayer Book, etc." His travels impaired his 
health. The English emigrants loved the Church and 
welcomed its missionary. Mr. Eldred formed several 
Sunday-schools under the General Episcopal Sunday- 
school Society. In 1826 two friends visited this daunt- 
less man and found him ill, but still he rode over the 
rugged road "to Muncey hills." The wagon was not 
covered, and the sun beat upon the invalid ; but a con- 
gregation awaited him at a village schoolhouse, and he 
preached to them. As no other food could be had, he 
ate some berries, thanked God, and rested a short time, 
and proceeded in the darkness of the night ; and when 



22 REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. 

the muddy roads forced walking, or afterward a narrow 

mountain pass, near a precipice with a waterfall beneath, 
gave fear of danger, he strove to encourage his friends 
by stirring the echoes of the forest with " Jerusalem My 
Happy Home," and similar strains. His home in the 
Muncey hills was poor, but the morning was wakened 
by the words, " To Our Redeemer's Glorious Name," 
etc., sung by the missionary as he and his children 
cleaned "the humble chariot which had brought us to 
the habitation of a King's Son." The oldest daughter 
by the kindness of friends was placed in school at Phila- 
delphia, and her father wrote her letters of Christian 
counsel in her absence. He used to make the house of 
Dr. Tanney. in the Northern Liberties, his home in visit- 
ing Philadelphia. The father was grateful for the 
attention to his child. A visit of Rev. Drs. Boyd and 
Clemson to Jersey Town is noted. The missionary de- 
sires Tracts and English and German Bibles and Testa- 
ments. In 1827 we see this poor man raising money for 
the suffering Greeks among his people. The same year 
the ill health of Dr. Bedell is mentioned in a letter, and 
the work of Rev. Norman Nash, in endeavoring to 
establish the Church in Pottsville, is hopefully com- 
mented on. 

The missionary's physician warned him against over 
effort, but he did not spare himself; and walked from 
point to point, and exposed himself to storm or sun, 
moved by no obstacles when duty called ; and he felt 
that his Christian ministry ordered him to testify as to 
the grace of the Gospel of God. He denied himself 
comforts for the sake of his wife, and he was a loving 
father. He would teach his children tl at the barn, in 
the field, or by the wayside." Like Bishop Chase, of 
Ohio, he toiled with his hands. Mr. Allen, in this con- 



REV. WILLI AM ELDRED. 23 

nection, describes how a letter written by the Bishop to 
a clergyman in Boston, who had asked particulars of his 
life, showing that in the cold winter he was cutting and 
hauling wood and thrashing grain, was sent to a lady in 
London, who afterward on the Bishop's visit offered him 
pecuniary aid, but he wished his schools to be aided. 
The lady was the daughter of the Bishop of Inverness, 
and her father had received the letter, and her dying 
friend, John Bowdler, left a purse of gold to Bishop 
Chase in consequence of it. The money purchased a 
Communion Service for the Theological Seminary in 
Ohio, and the lady w r as the means of procuring large 
funds to aid the Bishop's work in Ohio. 

In January of 1828 Mr. Eldred, one Sunday after 
preaching, visited some sick persons, returned home, 
and walked five miles to a point where he was to preach 
in the evening, and during the sermon he was attacked 
with illness. He recovered for a time, but in a few days 
died, having taken a final leave of his poor family. His 
parishioners regretted the loss of one who knew how to 
comfort those who were sick in body or soul. An ac- 
count of his death by a clergyman who witnessed it, and 
preached his funeral sermon, closes the volume ; but the 
name of this clergyman is not given. He rejoices in 
the departure of his brother to a land where there are 
no tears. The tribulation ended in lasting joy, and he 
who had taught others of the blessedness of the chastise- 
ments of God, now experienced the truth of his words. 
He has left another example to clergy and laity of the 
truth that the way to God's Kingdom is through tribu- 
lation. One of the hymns of Watts, appended to this 
volume, will furnish a fitting thought to close the con- 
sideration of such a holy life ; 



24 REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. 

u So Jesus slept ; God's dying Son, 

Past through the grave, and bless'd the bed. 
Rest here, O saint ; till from his throne 
The morning break and pierce the shade. 

" Break from his throne, illustrious morn ; 
Attend, O earth, the sovereign word ; 
Restore thy trust, a glorious form ; 
He must ascend to meet his Lord." 



bp. kemper's missionary work in Pennsylvania. 25 



CHAPTER IV. 
Bishop Kemper's Missionary Work in Pennsylvania. 

THE Rev. B. J. Douglass found in an ancient 
leather trunk belonging to his father some letters 
written by Dr. Kemper to the owner of the im- 
portant trunk, showing that in, the earlier days of 
diocesan life in Pennsylvania a missionary fire burned in 
the hearts of Drs. Boyd, Clay and Muhlenberg, Bird 
Wilson, Richard S. Mason, and the Rev. Messrs. Breint- 
nall, Samuel Phinney, and Joseph Clarkson, and the 
Rev. Dr. Levi Bull. Bishop White must be named as 
having a spirit which still shows itself in connection 
with that of the other worthies named in the mission 
work of this diocese and in the West. In 181 2 the Rev. 
Mr. Kemper was the first missionary of the x*\dvance- 
ment Society. He pleaded for advance from East to 
West, and thought if the Church were firmly planted at 
the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, 
and in that section, that scattered churchmen in Ohio, 
Kentucky and Tennessee would be affected by it. This 
he reported to the Society in 1813. Mr. Kemper's 
journey of missionary observation extended beyond the 
Alleghenies when easy railway travel was unknown. 
He was then a deacon, but full of energetic faith. He 
preached the Gospel faithfully, and laid foundations for 
future work. The Advancement Society was organized 
in 1812. Bishop White put out a series of practical 
queries which he desired to be answered, that he might 
3 



26 BP. KEMPER'S MISSIONARY WORK IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

know the condition and promise of the points visited. 
Churches without settled clergy were to be visited. Dr. 
Joseph Pilmore, rector of St. Paul's, Philadelphia, was 
appointed to visit the counties adjacent to that city, but 
his mission was a short one. The Rev. Mr. Kemper 
was assistant at Christ, St. Peter's and St. James's 
Churches in Philadelphia, but the trustees of the Ad- 
vancement Society arranged to supply his place, and he 
was away for three months, visiting the remote parts of 
Pennsylvania ; and as we consider his future life we may 
say that the deacon was father to the bishop, for in his 
later life various dioceses shared the zeal which impelled 
this first search for lost and scattered sheep. The Rev. 
B. J. Douglass, whose manuscript I am permitted to 
follow throughout this account, gives extracts from the 
Reports of the Society which show the good work done. 
Mr. Kemper found many church people scattered 
through Pennsylvania, and thought ''that six, or even 
eight, missionaries might be constantly employed, and 
most usefully employed among those who are pro- 
fessedly Episcopalians." He believed that "many of 
them would be nearly if not entirely supported by the 
people among whom they officiated." 

Rev. Jehu C. Clay and Rev. Jacob M. Douglass fol- 
lowed him in visiting the Western counties of this State ; 
"the one in 1813, the other in 1816," and confirmed 
this view. Mr. Kemper went from Pittsburgh to Browns- 
ville, in Fayette County, and found in that town and its 
vicinity a number of church people. He held two 
services on one Sunday in the Methodist place of 
worship, and at the afternoon service Rev. Mr. Ayres, 
who was a pioneer in Western Pennsylvania, read the 
prayers. There were five Episcopal churches within 
twelve miles of this place. The churches had not been 



BP. KEMPER S MISSIONARY WORK IN PENNSYLVANIA. 27 

open for a long time, but they were kept in repair. 
There was also a need of clergy near Philadelphia. 
Long after the Revolution the Church was weak. Mr. 
Kemper received no remuneration for this journey, only 
taking what was needed for its expenses. In 1S14 he 
made a second journey. He was the Secretary of the 
Advancement Society, and, doubtless, a faithful one. 
The subscriptions of that day were very creditable. The 
missionary work of Mr. Kemper was voluntarily offered. 
He started on his second tour of observation, August 
15th, 1814, and returned from his extensive journey on 
the fourteenth of the next December. The trustees con- 
sidered the mission an effective and useful one. Mr. 
Clay's visit was in 1813. Bradford County had sent an 
affecting appeal to Bishop White for a missionary visit. 
Some of the dwellers in what were "then remote 
valleys" told Rev. B. J. Douglass forty years ago, 
sometimes weeping, "of the intense interest attending 
that mission of Mr. Kemper." In 1850 Bishop Potter 
established the North East Convocation, which nobly 
kept up the missionary spirit. A favorite gathering 
place of the clergy in those later days was St. Matthew's 
Church, at Pike, in the valley of the YVyalusing, in 
Bradford County, where Kemper's memory is still 
preciously cherished. Mr. Kemper administered Holy 
Baptism to "one hundred and twenty-five persons." 
The Holy Communion was given to waiting souls, who 
had scarcely expected ever again to enjoy the blessed 
privileges of its reception. He preached where no 
clergyman of the Episcopal Church had ever before 
proclaimed the Word of God, and formed "several new 
congregations," while it was expected that others would 
be gathered. A demand arose for prayer books, and 
many souls were benefited by the public preaching and 



28 bp. kemper's missionary work in Pennsylvania. 

private counsel of the clergy of the Advancement Society. 
Bishop Kemper stands high among these missionaries. 
A kindred spirit was Rev. Dr. George Boyd, rector of 
St. John's Church, Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. 
This was the mother church of the parishes in the 
northern portion of the city, and it had great zeal in 
missions, and the parishes in Wilkesbarre, Springville, 
New Milford and Pike "owe their organization" to it.- 
Dr. Boyd's life may be found in the volume on the 
"Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware." In 
1816 Dr. Boyd was Secretary of the Advancement 
Society, but in 18 19 Bishop Kemper was again corres- 
ponding secretary. In passing, Mr. Douglass notes that 
in 18 1 5 Rev. Messrs. Milnor and Kemper alternated in 
a service in Commissioners' Hall, in Third Street, from 
March until June iSth, when a clergyman was employed 
to take up the work. In 18 16 Mr. Kemper writes Rev. 
Jacob M. Douglass, who was acting for a few months as 
the acceptable missionary of the Advancement Society 
in Western Pennsylvania, that he is " much pleased with 
his proposal to visit the Western States." As the 
Advancement Society operated only in Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Kemper suggested a Missionary Society, especially 
of young men, to aid in more general mission work, to 
support Mr. Douglass for a year of Western work. In 
a later letter the same year he describes the progress of 
his plan, and says that Mr. Breintnall has acted as lay- 
reader in Adams County, and appears to have animated 
the people very much." He adds, " Muhlenberg was at 
Huntingdon, where there are many children to be bap- 
tized." He wrote Rev. J. M. Douglass again that the 
Episcopal Missionary Society was about to be organized. 
Mr. Douglass received a commission "which entitled 
him to the honor of being the first missionary of the 



BP. KEMPER S MISSIONARY WORK IN PENNSYLVANIA. 29 

first Missionary Society of the United States to supply 
the needs of the West." He prepared for his journey of 
six months of mission work. Rev. Jacob M. Douglass 
states in his Journal, on Tuesday, October 29th : "I left 
Pittsburgh on my long journey through Ohio, Ken- 
tucky, etc." He acted according to Bishop White's 
letter of instruction to Mr. Kemper, and he "followed 
Mr. Kemper's footsteps and those of Mr. Clay in the 
Western counties of the State, only the sphere of labor 
was now being extended to that which was really the 
West of those days. He went as far as Tennessee ; 
baptizing the children ; visiting the scattered families of 
our flock ; looking after the churches left vacant since 
the Revolution ; encouraging, stimulating the feeble 
congregations to greater earnestness, and in not a few 
instances, notably that of Nashville, Tennessee, orga- 
nizing the people into a regular parish." 

The interesting article of B. J. Douglass cl'oses with 
the claim for Pennsylvania, and especially for earnest 
Philadelphia churchmen, that they have "the credit of 
originating those movements which culminated later in 
the formation of the general Missionary Society of the 
whole Church in this country ; and if there is any one 
name which, under God, has been instrumental in bring- 
ing about this result it is the name of the first mission- 
ary that heads the roll of the Advancement Society, the 
name of Jackson Kemper." 

The future missionary bishop, who brought various 
dioceses into union with the General Convention, and 
closed his useful life as the Bishop of Wisconsin, showed 
his mettle in the earliest days of his ministry. 



30 THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. 



CHAPTER V. 
The Rev. Levi Bull, D. D. 

BY. REV. BENJAMIN J. DOUGLASS. 

THE Rev. Levi Bull, D. D., who was connected 
with, the Diocese of Pennsylvania almost from 
its inception, was born at Warwick Furnace, 
Chester County, Pa., November 14, 1780. He was the 
son of Colonel Thomas Bull, an officer in the Con- 
tinental army during the Revolution. On March 31, 
1808, he was married to Ann, daughter of Mr. Cyrus 
Jacobs, an ironmaster of Churchtown, Lancaster Co., 
Pa. Of fifteen children born to them only three survive, 
Col. Thomas K. Bull, who sti.l resides at the old family 
mansion in the northern part of Chester County, near 
St. Mary's ; James Hunter Bull, an attorney at West 
Chester, Pa., and Samuel Octavius Bull, of Albany, 
Texas. 

Rev. Dr. Bull graduated at Dickinson College 
October, 1798. He was ordained deacon by Bishop 
White in Christ Church, Philadelphia, February 10, 
1805, and priest in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, by 
Bishop White, February 16, 1806, having pursued his 
studies under the direction of the Bishop. His son, 
Col. Thomas K. Bull, states that he attended for a while 
the Divinity School of the Rev. Dr. Nathan Grier, an 
eminent Presbyterian divine, and a friend and neighbor 
of the family. Col. Bull also states that immediately 
after his ordination he took charge of St. Gabriel's, 



THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. 3 1 

m 

Morlatton, (Douglassville), where he officiated for 
twenty years, and his own parish church, St. Mary's, 
built for him, and in which he ministered for nearly fifty 
years, till failing health and age required him to give up 
his regular charge, though he was active in his Master's 
service; assisting his brethren in their duties, and 
encouraging them in their labors till his " life's end." 

He received the title of Doctor of Divinity from 
Allegheny College, Pa. 

He was identified with the history of the Diocese of 
Pennsylvania for more than fifty years, with the excep- 
tion of the year 1818, when he served acceptably as rector 
of Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware. He was the 
intimate associate, friend and counsellor of Bishops 
Meade, Mcllvaine, Lee, Johns, and of Doctors Bedell, 
May and Tyng, and of the Rev. Richard U. Morgan, 
D. D., and the Rev. Messrs. Geo. Mintzer, Richard 
D. Hall, Jacob M. Douglass, and others. He was a 
strong man in every sense of the word, and was looked 
up to as a leader in that band of evangelical worthies, 
who by their faithful presentation of Gospel truth, un- 
blemished character and personal influence were the 
means of reviving the Episcopal Church in the counties 
about Philadelphia in the first half of this century. 

He never had less than a trio of churches under his 
care, and when he relinquished the rectorship of St. 
Gabriel's, Morlatton, after twenty years' service, it was 
replaced by that of Bangor Church, Churchtown, which, 
with St. Thomas's, Morgantown, and St. Mary's, War- 
wick, formed his permanent charge. For a time he had 
the care of St Andrew's, West Vincent, an off-shoot 
from St. Mary's. St. Mark's Church, Honeybrook, 
owed its origin to his labors. Mr. J. F. Sachse, a member 
of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, who 



32 THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. 

looked into the early history of some of the Churches 
in the State, says that it is his belief "that St. Mary's 
was the first church built in Pennsylvania after the 
Revolution, and during Dr. Bull's incumbency the num- 
ber of communicants was at times about one hundred, 
a large figure for a rural parish at that date." 

Bishop Alonzo Potter had the highest personal regard 
for him, and a warm admiration of his ability as a 
preacher. Speaking of a sermon of the Rev. Dr. Bull 
before the General Convention, that discriminating Bis- 
hop, who was not accustomed to bestow compliment 
ad libitum, as his clergy well know, said that on this 
occasion a deep impression was produced on the minds 
of all who heard him. And, in this connection, let me 
state a fact which I have from the very best authority, 
and I do it to show that Dr. Bull's strong, masculine 
sense in judging of men and measures was seldom at 
fault. In the year 1845, at the Diocese Convention in 
Philadelphia, after a day's ineffectual balloting, Dr. 
Bull went home with Dr. Suddards, with whom he was 
staying, and going up into the library in the evening 
with this burden on their minds, after prayer and con- 
ference Dr. Bull suddenly said : " Brother Suddards, I 
have found the man who is needed for our bishop, and 
who will unite us all." " Who is he ?" " Alonzo Potter, 
of Union College," was the reply. " Will you nominate 
him, for I am chairman?" said Dr. Bull. " I will," was 
the answer. The next morning he was nominated, and 
we all know with what happy results ; and if Dr. Bull 
had never done any other good in the world, this is 
enough to entitle him to the lasting regard of those who 
know the character of Bishop Potter's Episcopate in 
Pennsylvania. 

Long before what are now called '- missions" were 



THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. $$ 

thought of, Dr. Bull and those of his clerical brethren 
who were like-minded, were accustomed to hold what 
was then termed ''Associations," in the parishes through- 
out the Southeastern counties" of Pennsylvania. Two or 
three days were devoted to the earnest preaching of the 
truth, and to the direct and personal application of 
Christ's blessed Gospel in private to inquiring souls 
where a suitable opportunity was given, and in this way 
many, very many have been turned "from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Acts 
26 : 18. Dr. Bull died August 2, 1859. He had been a 
member of the Diocesan Convention for more than half 
a century. The last time he answered to the roll-call of 
the secretary was in 1858. The shades of that niglit 
when no man can work were deepening over a noble 
life, spent for the glory of God and the good of his fel- 
lowmen. He loved the Church to which he had devoted 
the strength of his davs with an ardent and loval affec- 
tion, and was abundant in labor, and many precious 
souls have been garnered into life eternal, the seeds of 
his faithful ministry. At the final summons he said to 
those in attendance at his bedside that he was ready. 
ready as the tired and trusted veteran at the sunset-gun 
to lay aside his arms and enter into rest. 

"The respect," writes his son, "shown his memory 
by his many clerical brethren, and the crowds of people 
who attended his remains to the grave, afforded ample 
evidence of the appreciation in which he was held by 
the community in which he spent his entire life. And, 
go where you will, in those parts of Berks, Chester and 
Lancaster, where his noble and commanding form was 
once familiar to the country folk, as he went in and out 
among them, travelling from church to church on Sun- 
days, in looking after their spiritual wants during the 



34 THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. 

week, and there is no name to this day of any clergy- 
man, whether of our own or of any of the denominations, 
that will call forth as warm a response from those who 
knew him, as the name of Levi Bull." 



I add to Mr. Douglass's interesting sketch, that he 
afterward drew my attention to an excellent anonymous 
article in the Protestant Episcopal Quarterly Review of 
April, i860. There the pious mother's influence over 
her son is noted. She named him Levi, hoping to see 
him in the Christian priesthood. The father was brave 
and industrious. The son was converted in early man- 
hood. When he became a clergyman he preached in 
schoolhouses and private houses, as well as in churches ; 
and founded St. Mary's Church, Warwick, in 1805. He 
rode on horseback through heat and cold. On Sunday 
nights, in the old age of his father, he held service at 
the paternal home. His wife was from the Jacobs 
mansion, called White Hall, near Churchtown, Lancas- 
ter County. In their own hospitable mansion Father Bull 
entertained the clergy in a Christian home. For years 
he was a delegate to the General Convention. His con- 
version was complete, and his faith w r as simple, hopeful 
and joyful. He preached with the power of abounding 
faith, and believed that faith in Christ, through the 
power of the Holy Spirit, made new men in Christ. 
The power of the Spirit was a great thought in his 
preaching, He preached the Convention sermon of 
1 8 19 at Bishop White's request. The text was, " How 
shall they preach except they be sent?" The subject 
was the responsibility and qualifications of the ministry. 
Dr. Bull was a good extemporary speaker and seldom 
wrote his sermons fully, and often lectured with no 



THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. D. 35 

notes. He was a friend of Dr. Pilmore and Rev. Slator 
Clay. He was highly blessed in drawing persons into 
the communion of the Church. His text before the 
General Convention was, "By whom shall Jacob arise, 
for he is small?" He saw the growth of the Church 
until Africa and Asia felt its power. A clergyman who 
officiated at St. Mary's the last time Dr. Bull was there 
as a worshiper, describes him as " an aged shepherd, 
near four score," with noble structure and erect form, 
among his flock as a fellow-worshiper, leading the 
music and sending forth his manly voice in the Liturgy. 

This faithful man was ready for death, and looked to 
his Saviour, and spoke of heaven as his home. The 
funeral procession extended from his house to the grave- 
yard at St. Mary's Church, "a full mile'' He was 
buried beside his wife and children near the walls of the 
church which, over fifty years before, had been founded 
by him. He left a precious legacy to his brethren in an 
example of faith, "whose faith follow considering the 
end cf (his) conversation Jesus Christ, the same yester- 
day, and to day, and forever." Heb. 13 : 7, 8. 

Bishop Potter, in his Convention address of 1849, 
when Dr. Bull resigned Morgantown and Churchtown, 
mentions his "uninterrupted and laborious ministry of 
more than fortv years, during which he has revived 
several of our old parishes and organized a number of 
new ones." 

The writer of this volume often met this worthy 
clergyman at his hospitable home, and recollects the 
funeral described, when the whole district seemed to 
gather to honor the memory of one much beloved among 
them. 

The Rev. Prof. Hare writes me of Dr. Bull: "A 
friendly, godly man, the possessor of a voice more than 



3* 



THE REV. LEVI BULL, D. I). 



ordinarily good, and a very popular preacher in the 
rural district to which he for the most part confined him- 
self." 



THE REV. GEORGE KIRKE. 37 



CHAPTER VI. 
The Rev. George Kirke. 

GEORGE KIRKE, the son of William Kirke and 
his wife Elizabeth, a daughter of George Steele, 
Esq., was born in Hanly, Staffordshire, England, 
March 31, 1795, and baptized by the vicar of the parish 
church of the Holy Trinity. He came of the ancestry 
of the famous Colonel Kirke, who figured in the sup- 
pression of Monmouth's rebellion, and in the Magdalen 
expulsion, and whom William III., for his defense of 
Londonderry, created a lieutenant-general. The family, 
before the close of the century, immigrated to the 
United States ; and his father taking up a tract of land in 
East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pa., engaged 
in farming for the balance of his life. Here the subject of 
this sketch passed his early days, receiving such educa- 
tional advantages, especially in mathematics, as the 
county afforded. The family w r ere staunch Church of 
England people. 

After spending some time in surveying and scientific 
studies, he w T ent to Philadelphia and engaged in busi- 
ness. Attending a service at which Bishop White was 
preacher, he was so impressed by the arguments pre- 
sented, followed by inquiries, correspondence and ac- 
quaintance, that in a short time he was confirmed and 
became a candidate for holy orders. Taking his course 
at the Virginia Theological Seminary at Alexandria, he 
was ordained a deacon by the Rt. Rev. Richard Chan- 



38 THE REV. GEORGE KIRKE. 

ning Moore at the Monumental Church, Richmond, Va., 
in Lent, 1827, and immediately took charge of St. 
John's Church, New London Township, Chester County, 
Pa., — a parish founded by the venerable English Society 
for Propagating the Gospel, and also St. James's, West 
Marlborough, in the same county. He received the 
priesthood at the hands of Bishop H. U. Onderdonk, 
then the assistant of Bishop White, at St. John's 
Church, Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, on Sunday, 
April 6, 1830. 

After a few years he became rector of St. Luke's, 
Newtown, and St. Andrew's, Yardleyville, Bucks Co. f 
Pa., but after a brief period resigned and returned to his 
former parishes. 

Both of these Chester County parishes were largely 
sustained by the descendents of the Church of England 
people. Mr. Kirke kept the services up, but the sup- 
port from both in the aggregate was so meagre, that for 
many years he was compelled to reside elsewhere in the 
county ; a long distance off, and engage in educational 
and mathematical work to secure a bare existence. 

During this rectorship, an organization known as the 
Chester and Delaware Convocation was formed by the 
clergy of these counties for missionary effort, and it ap- 
pointed Mr. Kirke as its missionary — supplemental to 
his cures. Services were held at private houses for the 
convenience of church people, and for others as oppor- 
tunities offered, upon Sunday or weekday evenings ; 
when baptisms, catechizings, and other offices were per- 
formed. This duty also embraced the chaplaincies of 
the Chester County Prison and Alms-house; one Sunday 
being given to the parishes, and the next to the institu- 
tions named, alternately, morning and afternoon, respect- 
ively ; the evening being devoted to a house service 



THE REV. GEORGE KIRKE. 39 

along the road between the aiternoon station and his 
home. His personal diary shows that for nearly thirty 
years he performed this duty upon every Sunday, with- 
out an intermission ; involving a ride of from twenty to 
twenty-five miles, almost invariably on horseback. It 
was a duty that nothing interfered with, and summer's 
heat and winter's cold or storms, however severe, or in- 
disposition, never detained him ; and it involved a great 
deal of fasting, much faith and patience, and constant 
prayer. His care preserved St. John's, which has now, 
with a new and appropriate building, risen to new life. 
His efforts broke up many abuses, especially among the 
insane in the old alms-house, and the present fine build- 
ing resulted from his influence. 

He w r as a man of great humility, courage and per- 
severance, conscientious and faithful to everything. He 
believed in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic 
Church; in Her doctrines, worship, orders and dis- 
cipline. He ministered to the pauper and prisoner, to 
the poor and friendless, as well as to his flock, in all 
spiritual things, and was *a true pastor. His reward 
must be that promised by our Blessed Lord in St. 
Matthew 25 : 34-36. A tablet erected by his old parish- 
ioners in the new r St. John's, New^ London, after reciting 
his rectorship of almost forty years, has this quotation 
from Rev. 2:3: " For my name's sake hast labored and 
hast not fainted." 

He resigned his duties in the winter cf 1867-68, and 
fell asleep at sunset, Friday, September 25, 1868, in his 
74th year. His remains rest in the yard of St. James's 
Church, Dow r ningtown, Pa., in which parish he had re- 
sided from 1843. 

Mr. Kirke was married twice. His first w T ife was a 
daughter of Wm. Henderson, a parishioner of St. 



40 THE REV. GEORGE KIRKE. 

John's, of the Lightner family, well-known in Lancaster 
County; his second, an English lady, a daughter of the 
last of the Lillingtons, of Warickshire. His family and 
connections have given no less than five persons to the 
priesthood of the American Church. G. W. K. 





^^^^^c 



BISHOPS, 4* 



CHAPTER VII. 

Bishops, 

SKETCHES of Bishops White, Onderdonk, Stevens, 
Whitaker, Lee and Coleman, are given in " Early 
Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware." The 
other bishops of Pennsylvania are now noted. Bishop 
Bowman is identified with what is now the Diocese of 
Central Pennsylvania, by his long residence in Lancaster. 
The reader of this work may observe how many 
bishops have been given by Pennsylvania, to other 
dioceses, as noted in the parish histories. 

THE RT. REV. SAMUEL BOWMAN, S. T. D. 

Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania, was born in Wilkes- 
barre, Pennsylvania, on the 21st day of May, A, D. 1800, 

Educated privately, and studied theology under the 
direction of Bishop White, 

Ordered deacon in Christ Church, Philadelphia, on 
the 14th day of August, A. D. 1823, by the Rt. Rev. 
William White, D.D. 

Ordained priest in St. James's Church, Philadelphia, 
on the 19th day of December, A. D. 1824, by the same 
prelate. 

In September, 1823, he took charge of two parishes 
in Lancaster County, where he remained until 1825, 
when he removed to Easton, and became the rector of 
Trinity Church, In 1827 he returned to Lancaster 
County, and became the assistant of the Rev. Joseph 
4 



42 BISHOPS. 

Clarkson, the rector of St. James's Church, Lancaster. 
Upon the death of the Rev. Mr. Clarkson, A. D. 1830, 
he became the rector of the parish, which position he 
held until his death. 

He received the Degree of Doctor of Sacred The- 
ology from Geneva (now Hobart) College, A. D. 1843. 

In 1847 he was elected Bishop of Indiana, but de- 
clined. 

Consecrated Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania in 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, on the 25th day of August, 
A. D. 1858, by Bishops Jackson Kemper, De Lancey, 
Alfred Lee, John Williams and Horatio Potter. 

Bishop Bowman died on the 3d day of August, A. D. 
1861. He was in the Western portion of the diocese on 
his way to meet an appointment at Butler, in Butler 
County. The destruction of a bridge by a landslide, 
compelled the passengers of the train in which the 
Bishop was journeying to make a walk of four miles. 
The Bishop lingered behind, and when the party had 
reached the end of the journey he was nowhere to be 
found. A workman returning with a hand-car to the 
broken bridge, found him lying on his face by the road- 
side, quite dead. 

The body was tenderly cared for, at once returned to 
Pittsburgh, and thence removed to Lancaster, where it 
was buried in the churchyard. 

[Rev. Dr. Batterson's Sketch-Book of the American Episco- 
pate.] 

THE RT. REV. JOHN BARRETT KERFOOT, S. T. D., L.L. D. 

The first Bishop of Pittsburgh, was born in Dublin, 
Ireland, on the 1st day of March, A. D. 1816. 

He was brought to the United States in 1819, and 
settled at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 



bishops. 43 

He graduated at Flushing Institute (aiterwards St. 
Paul's College), at Flushing, Long Island, A. D. 1834. 

Ordered deacon in St. George's Church, Flushing, on 
the 1st day of March, A. D. 1837, b y the Rt. Rev. 
Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk, S. T. D. 

Ordained priest in the same church on the 1st day of 
March, A. D. 1840, by the same prelate. 

He was assistant professor of Latin and Greek, and 
chaplain in St. Paul's College, from 1837 until 1842, 
when he removed to Maryland and became the rector of 
St. James's College, near Hagerstown, where he remained 
until 1864, when he was chosen president of Trinity 
College, Hartford, Connecticut. Two years later he 
was elected as the first Bishop of Pittsburgh, a new See 
which had been created in the Western portion of the 
Diocese of Pennsylvania, A. D. 1865. 

He received the degree of Doctor of Sacred The- 
ology from Columbia College, New York, A. D. 1850, 
and from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, A. D. 
1865. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred 
upon him by the University of Cambridge, England, 
A. D. 1867/ 

Consecrated Bishop of Pittsburgh in Trinity Church, 
Pittsburgh, on the 25th day of January, A. D. 1866, by 
Bishops Hopkins, Mcllvaine, Whittingham, John Wil- 
liams, Joseph Cruikshank Talbot, Coxe and Clarkson. * 

Writings : 1. Several sermons preached in the chapel 
of the college of St. James, and at Convocations in 
Maryland. 2. Lecture on the " Inspiration of the Holy 
Scriptures," delivered in the course of lectures on the 
"Evidences of Christianity," Philadelphia, 1853-4. 3. 
Inauguration address as President of Trinity College. 
4. Convention addresses and charges, as Bishop of 
Pittsburgh. 5. Semi-centennial sermon before the Board 



44 BISHOPS. 

of [Missions, A. D. 187 1. 6. Sermon preached at the 
Consecration of Bishop Armitage, 1866. 7. Sermon 
preached at the Consecration of Bishop Pinkney, 1870. 

Bishop Kerfoot died at Myersville, Somerset Count}*, 
Pennsylvania, on the icth day of July, A. D. 1881, and 
was buried in Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh. 

[Rev. Dr. Batterson's Sketch-Book of the American Episco- 
pate.] 

BISHOP M. A. DE WOLFE HOWE. 

Bishop Howe is a native of Bristol, R. I. He was 
born April 5th, 1809. His mother was a sister of Bishop 
Smith, of Kentucky. His father was John Howe. 
Bishop Griswold, when rector of St. Michael's Church, 
Bristol, baptized the future bishop in that church. The 
lad was a pupil in Phillips Academy, Ando\ er, Mass., 
and a member of Middlebury College in Vermont, and 
afterward in Brown University, where he was graduated 
during the presidency of Dr. Wayland. He was afterward 
a " successful candidate for a classical tutorship in Brown 
University." He became a student in his father's law 
office, and an usher in the Adams Grammar School, of 
Boston, and " master of the Hawes Grammar School." 

He was confirmed by Bishop Griswold, and became 
" a candidate for holy orders in 1830." 

In 1832 Bishop Griswold ordained Mr. Howe to the 
diaconate. After a time he assumed the rectorship of 
St. James's Church, Roxbury, and a church was built 
under his rectorship. 

In 1833 Bishop Griswold ordained him to the priest- 
hood. While editing the Christian Witness with Rev. 
Dr. Stone, he was called to the rectorship of Christ 
Church, Cambridge. 

In 1836 he resumed the rectorship of Roxbury. In 
1846 he began his successful career in St. Luke's 



BISHOPS. 45 

Church, Philadelphia. He was placed on the Standing 
Committee. Brown University gave him the title of 
Doctor of Divinity. He was long secretary of the 
General Convention. Much benevolent and mission 
work was done by St. Luke's Church during Dr. Howe's 
rectorship. 

In 187 1 he was elected bishop of the new Diocese of 
Central Pennsylvania. 

The consecration was in St. Luke's Church, Philadel- 
phia. 

The Bishop resides in Reading, and Christ Cathedral 
is located there. 

In 1884 Bishop Rulison became his assistant. 

Bishop Howe has written various articles for print in 
prose and verse, and some of his sermons have been 
published. 

[Abridged from Montgomery's History of Berks County.] 
THE RT. REV. CORTLAXDT WHITEHEAD, D. D. 

Second Bishop of Pittsburgh, was born in Xew York 
City, October 30, 1842. He is the son of William A. 
and [Margaret Elizabeth Whitehead, of Newark, New 
Jersey ; his mother being a daughter of the Hon. James 
Parker, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Graduated from 
Phillips Academy, Andover, [Mass., in 1859 ; from Yale 
in 1863, and from the Philadelphia Divinity School in 
1867. 

Ordered deacon by Bishop Oclenheimer, of New 
Jersey, June 21, 1867. For three years after his ordina- 
tion to the diaconate he was missionary at Black Hawk 
and Georgetown, Colorado. Was married, July 29, 
1868, to Charlotte Burgoyne King, of Boston Highlands 
(Roxbury), [Massachusetts. 



46 BISHOPS. 

Ordained priest August 7, 1868, by Bishop Randall, 
of Colorado. From November, 1870, to his elevation 
to the Episcopate, he was rector of the Church of the 
Nativity, South Bethlehem, Diocese of Central Pennsyl- 
vania. Deputy to the General Convention from Diocese 
of Central Pennsylvania, 1877 and 1880. Assistant sec- 
retary of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, 1871-82. 
Received degree of Doctor of Divinity from Union Col- 
lege, 1880. Consecrated second Bishop of Pittsburgh 
in Trinity Church, Pittsburgh, on St. Paul's Day, 
January 25, 1882, by Bishops Stevens, of Pennsylvania ; 
Bedell, of Ohio ; Scarborough, of New Jersey ; Howe, 
of Central Pennsylvania; Peterkin, of West Virginia, 
and Hellmuth, of Huron, Canada. 

[Living Church Annual Quarterly, 1886.] 

THE RT. REV. NELSON S. RULISON, D. D. 

Assistant Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, was born 
in Carthage, New York, April 24, 1842. His remote 
ancestors were of the German nobility. He received his 
academical education at the Wesleyan Seminary, and 
graduated at the General Theological Seminary, New 
York, in 1866. 

Was ordered deacon on Trinity Sunday, 1866. He 
spent his first year in Holy Orders as assistant minister 
at the Church of the Annunciation, New York, the Rev. 
Samuel Seabury, D. D., rector. He then succeeded 
Bishop Tuttle as rector of Zion Church, Morris, New 
York, after the latter was consecrated Bishop of Utah 
and Idaho. Dr. Rulison became rector of St. Paul's, 
Cleveland, Ohio, in Advent, 1876, in which position he 
remained until his elevation to the Episcopate. Elected 
Assistant Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, June 12, 1884. 



BISHOPS. 4? 

Consecrated in St. Paul's Church, Cleveland, on October 
28, 1884, Festival of Sts. Simon and Jude, by Bishops 
Lee (Presiding Bishop), Howe, of Central Pennsylvania ; 
Bedell, of Ohio; Harris, of Michigan, and Potter, 
assistant, of New York. 

[Living Church Annual Quarterly, 1SS6.] 



48 ALLEGHENY CITY (p.) 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Parish History. 

[Diocesan Abbreviations — "C," Central Pennsylvania; (< P," 
Pittsburgh; "Pa.," Pennsylvania.] 

ALLEGHENY CITY (p). 

I^VHE Rev. M, Byllesby in his history of the Church 
in Warner's "History of Allegheny County/' 
states that Christ Church, Allegheny City, in 
1830, "was organized on the North side of the river, to 
accommodate the growing population of that suburb." 

Rev. Edward Young Buchanan, D. D., was one of the 
earliest clergy here. He is a brother of President 
Buchanan. 

About 1857 Rev. Dr. David Carter Page became 
rector. He had been "a man of great influence and 
reputation in the Church, but then somewhat past the 
maturity of his powers." His personal appearance was 
commanding, and his manners distinguished; and he 
was " striking as a reader of the liturgy and as a 
preacher." The church building was improved under 
this rector, "and in the next twenty years it reached a 
position only second to the more popular of the Pitts- 
burgh churches." 

In 1871 Christ Church building was further improved. 

In 1832 Rev. Sanson R. Brunot was in charge of this 
parish, and Dr. Buchanan officiated for him when he 
left the parish for his health. Rev. Dr. Buchanan writes 
me that he was "one of the holiest of men." He was 
the uncle of Felix R. Brunot. 



ALLEGHENY CITY (p.) 49 

The Rev. Thomas Crumpton was long the faithful 
rector of the parish. He now resides in Pittsburgh at 
an advanced age. 

The Rev. Robert Meech is the present rector. 

EMMANUEL CHURCH. 

Order of rectors proximately correct as to date, is as 
follows : Rev. W. A. Fuller, 1868 to 1870 ; Rev. J. K. 
Karcher, 1870 to 1871 ; Rev. Robert C. Caswell, 1871 to 
1875 ; Rev. Marison Byllesby, the present rector, from 
1875 to date. Rev. John Keble Karcher is now at 
Grand Forks, Dakota. Mr. Byllesby's long rectorship 
makes it fitting to add a record of his church life. His 
printed work in local church history in the "History of 
Allegheny County," has aided the author of this 
book. 

Rev. Marison Byllesby. — Born in Delaware County, 
Pa., December 29, 1832. Education, private, and at 
Virginia Theological Seminary. Ordained deacon in 
St. Paul's Church, Chester, 17th Sunday after Trinity, 
1856, by Bishop Alonzo Potter. 

Ordained priest in St. Paul's Church, Minersville, 
Schuylkill County, October, 1857, by Bishop Alonzo 
Potter. 

Missionary at St. Paul's Church, Minersville, from 
October, 1856 to February 1, i860. 

Rector of Christ Church, Meadville, from February 5, 
i860 to July 1, 1869. 

Rector of Christ Church, Oil City, and St. John's 
Church, Rouseville, from April, 1869 to October, 1871. 

Rector of St. Luke's Church, Dixon, Illinois, Octo- 
ber, 1871 to May, 1873. 

Rector of St. James's Church, Milwaukee, Wis., 
May, 1873 to July 1, 1875. 



50 BETHLEHEM (SOUTH), (c.) THE NATIVITY. 

Rector of Emmanuel Church, Allegheny, Pa., from 
July 5, 1875, to present date. 

ALTOONA (P.) ST. LUKE'S. 

Rectors.— Rev. Robert W. Oliver, D. D., 1858 to 
1863; Rev. J. Wellesley Jones, 1864 to 1865; Rev. 
John Newton Spear, 1865 to 1867 ; Rev. William W. 
Spear, D. D., 1867 to 1869 ; Rev. O. W. Landreth, 1870 
to 1871 ; Rev. John A. Morgan, 1871 to 1872 ; Rev. S. 
H. S. Gallaudet, 1873 to 1874; Rev. T. W. Davidson, 
1874 to 1876; Rev. Allan Sheldon Woodle, 1876 to 
date. 

BETHLEHEM (SOUTH), (c.) THE NATIVITY. 
BY REV. C. KINLOCH NELSON. 

Scant records exist of the first church services held 
in the old Moravian town of Bethlehem. For several 
summers, beginning about 1853, various clergymen held 
by invitation the offices and preached in the parlor of 
Mr. Tinsley Jeter on the South side of the Lehigh river. 

A Sunday-school and occasional services were held 
in Bethlehem through the activity of Messrs. Robert H. 
and William H. Sayre, sons of a devout churchman of 
St. Mark's Church, Mauch Chunk, from 1854. On one 
of his visitations Bishop Alonzo Potter stopped in 
Bethlehem, and urged upon the few church people some 
sort of organization. A little later Bishop Stevens ad- 
vised the formation of a parish. On June 1, 1862, the 
Rev. Eliphalet Nott Potter, deacon, was detailed as mis- 
sionary in this town. Through his zeal the first church 
of our communion, and first of any sort on the South 
side, was built in the village of Bethlehem, South, 
between 1863 an d 1865. About the same time Mr. 
Potter erected Grace Church, Allentown, and the Church 




Iff mfcfr- 



BETHLEHEM (SOUTH), (c.) THE NATIVITY. 51 

of the Mediator, Allentown Furnace. He was the first 
chaplain, and a professor in the Lehigh University from 
its beginning in 1866 until his resignation in 1869, when 
he went as assistant to St. Paul's Church, Troy, N. Y. 
(He was a son of Bishop Alonzo Potter.) 

During Mr. Potter's rectorship the Rev. Robert Jones 
Nevin was appointed assistant minister of the parish in 

1868, and was elected in succession as rector March 1, 

1869, he having been ordained priest in this church in 
February of the same year. 

Through his exertions a Sunday-school was organized 
in Bethlehem (old town), which was the germ of a new 
parish. Mr. Nevin, at the request of Bishop Stevens, 
took temporary charge of (then) Grace Church, Rome, 
Italy, and resigned this parish August 16, 1869. He 
was recalled on the 18th of September, and tendered his 
final resignation January 8, 1870, to become rector of 
St. Paul's, within the walls, Rome. 

The Rev. John Irving Forbes was invited to, and did 
take charge of the parish in Mr. Nevin's absence, and 
continued in the work until April 4, 1870 ; shortly after 
which time he died, having earned by his devotion and 
energy the affection and respect of the people, and was 
much lamented. Mr. Forbes pushed forward the work 
in Bethlehem, and gave the name, now borne by the 
younger parish of Trinity, Bethlehem. 

Following Mr. Forbes, the Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead 
entered upon the rectorship on All Saint's Day, 1870. 
During his incumbency Trinity Church was begun and 
completed 1871-2, the Rev. Charles H. Mead assisting 
him for one year. 

Mr. Whitehead proposed and set on foot the establish- 
ment of St. Luke's Hospital, and saw it reach a high 
degree of efficiency in benevolent work. 



52 BETHLEHEM (SOUTH), (c.) THE NATIVITY. 

He resigned the charge of Trinity Church, Bethlehem, 
on December i, 1872, and gave his time wholly to the 
mother parish ; the Rev. Charles Morrison being elected 
to fill the vacancy thus created. (Rev. Dr. George P. 
Allen is the present rector.) 

Between 1874 and 1875 he brought about the erection 
of St. Mary's Chapel in the vicinity of the borough of 
South Bethlehem, and saw it consecrated on the tenth 
anniversary of the Church of the Nativity. 

After the death of Bishop Kerfoot, Dr. Whitehead 

was elected Bishop of Pittsburgh, and was consecrated 

in that city on the Conversion of St. Paul, 1882. 

Note. — To bring the above sketch to date the author of this 
volume adds that the present rector ot the parish is the Rev. 
Cleland Kinloch Nelson, B. A. He was born at Greenwood, near 
CoDham Station (county-town Charlottesville), Albemarble 
County, Virginia, on the 23d of May, 1S52. 

His early education was received in his father's private 
school for boys. In 1868 he entered St. John's College, 
Annapolis, Maryland, from which institution he was 
graduated in 1872. 

He at once began the study of theology under his 
uncle, the Rev. C. K. Nelson, D. D. On the 19th of 
September, 1875, he w r as admitted to the diaconate by 
the Rt. Rev. Wm. Pinkney, in the Church of the Ascen- 
sion, Washington, D. C. 

While attending lectures at Berkeley Divinity School 
in the autumn of that year, he was assistant to Dr. 
Harwood in Trinity Church, New Haven, Conn. 

Mr. Nelson took charge January 16, 1876, of the 
Church of St. John the Baptist, Germantown, Philadel- 
phia, the Rev. Wm. Ely, incumbent ; of which parish 
he became rector upon his ordination to the priesthood 
by Bishop Stevens in Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, on the 
22d of June, 1876. 




THE OLD ST. JAMESS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, BRISTOL, PA. 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 53 

He resigned that parish after six years and a half of 
laborious but much blessed work. On the 2d of July, 
1882, he entered upon the duties of rector of the Church 
of the Nativity, South Bethlehem, and was instituted 
October 8th of that year. Between the years 1882 and 
1884 he effected the completion of St. Joseph's Chapel, 
in the outskirts of the town; and in 1885-7 rebuilt the 
Church of the Nativity, at a cost of 375,°°°. The new 
church, — Mr. C. M. Burns, architect, — was presented 
for consecration on All Saint's Day. 1888. 

From July, 18S6, to October, 1888, the Rev. Charles 
Edgar Taylor, B. D., assisted the rector in the arduous 
and increasing duties of the parish. In 1890 the Rev. 
Harvey Sheaffe Fisher, B. A., was appointed assistant 
minister. 

The parochial work now includes ministration of the 
church where there is a weekly and Holy Day celebra- 
tion and a daily service, two chapels, the chaplaincy of 
St. Luke's Hospital and of Bishopthorpe School. The 
last annual report shows 2000 baptized persons, 309 
communicants, a Sunday-school average of 425, a Guild 
of fifteen Chapters, and total offerings over S9000. 

BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

Rev. Dr. John H. Drumm, when rector of this church, 
preached a historical sermon, in response to the desire 
of a Committee of the Diocese for parish histories. As 
this has been preserved merely in the form of a cutting 
from a newspaper, it seems well here to condense its in- 
formation into a more permanent shape. Where this 
cannot be effected, it is well to paste such cuttings in 
the church record-book for preservation, as was done in 
this case. Mere. loose slips are apt to be lost to the in- 
jury of the parish. I am indebted to the present rector, 



54 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

the Rev. Mr. Kolb, for valued aid in this matter. The 
first parish book was opened in A. D. 1712, which was 
159 years before this sermon was preached; so that it 
treated of five generations. The Venerable Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts has 
English records of this colonial parish, which may be 
seen at the rooms of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania, in Bishop Perry's Collections, which embrace the 
results of the searchings of Rev. Dr. Hawks in English 
Archives. 

The Rev. W. S. Perkins, a former rector, preached a 
historical sermon twenty years before that of Dr. 
Drumm. Wat,son's Annals of Philadelphia, and Bache's 
History of Bristol give facts concerning the parish. 

The Propagation Society, which deserves the thanks 
of Americans for its generous nursing aid to the early 
missions, was founded and started on its blessed work 
of proclaiming Christ's Gospel in 1701, and took the 
place of one which was in existence a generation be- 
fore, under the auspices of Robert Boyle, the great 
philosopher. The zeal of the Church of England is 
thus shown as the first Protestant Church engaging in 
the work of Foreign Missions, nearly a century before 
others were astir in this matter. Dr. Drumm also notes 
that the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge 
is ancient, and certainly their work is important, as 
Christian literature is a handmaid to the Church of 
Christ. 

The Swedes and the Dutch who came hither retained 
the worship of their forefathers in the home lands, and 
remembered the God of their fathers on a foreign shore. 

Bristol is a reminder of an English town where the 
Avon River joins the Severn, and the Severn the sea, 
and where the ashes of the blessed martyr Wicliffe were 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 55 

cast and dispersed seaward, and his doctrines came to 
teach the truth of Christ in this new Bristol. 

The Rev. George Keith, who had been a member o r 
the Society of Friends, but who became a clergyman of 
the Church of England was the first missionary sent 
over by the Propagation Society. He traveled from 
"Carolina to New England at a time when travel was 
difficult. He baptized some persons in Bristol. The 
Rev. John Talbot w r as a fellow passenger on the ship 
with Keith", and they worked together in missionary 
undertakings in this country. Rev. Dr. Hills, in his 
History of St. Mary's Church, Burlington, N. J., of 
which John Talbot w r as rector, maintains that he was a 
non-juring bishop, and an Episcopal seal left by him 
would seem to confirm this statement, though it has 
been questioned. Humphrey's Notes on New Bristol 
are referred to in the sermon under consideration. John 
Rowland and Anthony Burton were chiefly instrumental 
in building the first church. The Rev. Mr. Talbot 
served Bristol with Burlington, frequently officiating 
here. 

The church at Bristol probably dates from 17 11. It 
is younger than St. Paul's, Chester. It was " built by 
subscription of several well-disposed persons, and being 
finished, was dedicated to the honor of St. James the 
.Greater, the festival of that Apostle, being ye 25th of 
July, A. D. 1 7 12." This is inscribed on the title page 
of the old record book. Queen Anne gave the Com- 
munion vessels. 

The Rev. Mr. Talbot worked here until 1720, and 
then went to England and labored to secure a bishop 
for the Western colonies, and the Propagation Society 
bought a house for a bishop's use in Burlington, but 
governmental matters checked the action which was so 



56 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

greatly desired. As no bishop was appointed it is 
thought that John Talbot received consecration as a 
non-juring bishop in 1723, and that he administered 
confirmation. He died in Burlington in Nov. 29th, 
1727. The Rev. Dr. Hills quotes from the American 
Weekly Mercury, published in Philadelphia, the state- 
ment that he "was a pious good man, and much lament- 
ed." There is a difference of opinion about his Episco- 
pate. 

Next to Mr. Talbot we find in Dr. Drumm's record 
the Rev. Thoroughgood Moor conducting Bristol parish 
during Mr. Talbot's three years' absence. In Bishop 
Perry's Collections there is a letter from Rev. Mr. 
Nichols of Chester, which commends the piety and 
learning of the missionaries sent over by the Propaga- 
tion Society, which adds, "especially my Rev'd Brother, 
Mr. Moore, in Burlington." 

Anthony Burton gave the land for the church and the 
old graveyard, the graveyard being added in 1733, the 
whole containing nearly one and one-half acres. The 
deed granted the property to the rector, or minister for 
the time being, forever. 

In 1733 Rev. Robert Weyman was in charge of this 
parish. He was zealous in duty. An account of him 
may be found in the history of St. David's Church, 
Radnor, in this volume, and in the history of Trinity 
Church, Oxford, in the volume on the Early Clergy of 
Pennsylvania and Delaware. The wardens were Mat- 
thew Rue and Francis Gardonet ; vestry, John Abraham 
de Normandie, William Hope, John Anthony de Nor- 
mandie, John Bassonett, William Gregory, William 
Silverstone, Eben Harris, John Underwood, Matthias 
Keene, John Williams, Jonathan Bourne, Thomas Wor- 
rell. Mr. Watkins was appointed "clarke." 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 57 

In 1 7 15 John Rowland donated a lot in Mill Street for 
a minister's residence. 

The French names among the vestry may have been 
those of descendants of the Huguenots, and those fam- 
iliar with this section of country know that there were 
some of these French settlers in early days. 

Rev. William Lindsay is the next clergyman who 
appears after Mr. Weyman as " minister for time being," 
according to the signature on the record-book. In 1734 
Rev. Mr. Cummings, of Christ Church, Philadelphia, 
wrote the Secretary of the Propagation Society "that 
William Lindsey had been in this country about sixteen 
months, being well recommended. He was a Master 
of Arts and had studied philosophy and divinity in the 
College of Glasgow." Mr. Cummings commends him 
to the Bishop of London for holy orders, and suggests 
him to the Society as a proper person to act as mission- 
ary in Apoquiniminck, in Delaware, now Middletown, 
where the historic St. Ann's Church yet stands, though 
a new church has been built in the village not far dis- 
tant. 

In 1735 Mr. Lindsay writes from Bristol to the So- 
ciety that he and Mr. Pugh had safely arrived in Phila- 
delphia on the preceding May, after a stormy and dan- 
gerous passage w T ith contrary winds, which had occupied 
several weeks. It was no light task to cross the ocean 
in those days, and from the Downs to Philadelphia was 
practically a greater distance then than now. On Sun- 
day, the eighth day of June, the missionary displayed 
his credentials in Bristol, which he says had been fifteen 
years or more without a missionary, being supplied very 
seldom from Burlington. The church people received 
their new pastor kindly, and prospects seemed brighter. 
The little flock were grateful to the Society'for consid- 



58 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

ering their need. Those who enjoy the benefits of the 
church to-day should sometimes compare with gratitude 
their favored state to that of their predecessors in those 
long years of irregular services. 

The few clergy had long distances to traverse. This 
missionary speaks of Trentown in Jersey beyond the 
Delaware, as ''ten long miles from Bristol," and in cold 
and wet the miles were doubtless long. He went there 
every third Sunday for service, and in summer he went 
oftener. They had been long without a clergyman. 
The ferry was wide and dangerous and inconvenient. 
Compare the number of churches in Trenton to-day, 
with its resident bishop, and imagine how the mission- 
ary would have felt if whirled over the dangerous ferry 
in a Pullman palace car. 

Mr. Lindsey went to Amwell and Hopewell in New 
Jersey, and the only church he found there was " an old 
and ruinous building at Hopewell," though he thought 
it desirable to place a separate missionary there rather 
than to require him to serve a point forty-seven miles 
from his home. He had served White Clay Creek in 
Delaware, and London Grove in Pennsylvania, and was 
going to supply them for a month, though, as White 
Clay Creek was only seven miles from New Castle, he 
thought that London Grove needed the most of his 
services. 

Mr. Lindsay had administered the Holy Communion 
in Bristol to sixteen communicants, and baptized about 
ten children, and preached very often on week-days 
upon "the great obligations of religion " with some suc- 
cess, and some of the Society of Friends had come un- 
der his influence. He declares that he had "the life 
and lot of a wayfaring man, and that he had success in 
convincing many of the duty of baptism." The need 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 59 

of Bibles and prayer books was great and crying. He 
asks donations as the people were tocrpoor to buy. The 
missionary declares that he had done his duty before 
God, and sought the good of his people, and he hopes 
that the Society may long bless "these American 
deserts" with the preached Gospel. 

In 1736 Mr. Lindsay wrote the Bishop of London 
from Bristol that his giission extended one hundred 
miles, and that "the great river Delaware" which he 
had frequently to cross, was often "very hazardous in 
the Winter." To an inhabitant of Great Britain this 
stream would appear very large, for the rivers in that 
country would some of them be considered merely 
creeks here. The missionary was poor, and constant 
travel, and clothing and lodging, and the horse and his 
forage drained the income of this toiler in Christ's vine- 
yard. 

In 1739 a brick vestry-room was ordered to be added 
to St. James's Church, Bristol, but it was four years in 
building. 

Rev. Colin Campbell was the next clergyman from 
1 741 to 1766, twenty-five years. He lived in " the church 
house" or "parsonage " a part of the time. 

In 1 741 Richard Rue was clerk. This was a touch 
with English church life, but such a functionary leading 
the responses from a leading post in the church has now 
disappeared from our country. 

The Rev. George Morgan Hills, D. D., rector emeri- 
tus of St. Mary's Church, Burlington, N. J., did a noble 
service in church history in writing a large octavo vol- 
ume concerning the history of his parish, which is an- 
cient, and its career illustrates important points in the 
affairs of the American church in general. He has 
much on record of Mr. Campbell, and we will glean 



60 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

somewhat from his rich store to sketch his life. His 
dignified picture in gown and bands and wig adorns the 
book. In 1738 the Propagation Society appointed this 
clergyman a missionary to Burlington. He was born 
at Earnhill, in Scotland, in 1707, and bore his father's 
name, being one of a family of fourteen. He studied at 
Aberdeen and Inverness, and at the last-named place 
resided with his aunt, Lady ..Drummuire. His grand- 
father, William Campbell, was High Sheriff of Nairn, 
and "of noble descent." A touch of early customs in 
Burlington is shown in the statement which the new 
missionary makes that his churchwarden, Mr. Allen, 
and Mr. Bustel, a vestryman, marry ten couples to his 
one. 

In 1742 Mr. Campbell was married to Mary Martha 
Bard, in St. Mary's Church, Burlington, by the Rev. 
William Currie, the faithful missionary at Radnor, 
whose life is sketched in the history of Radnor parish 
in this volume. The wife was a daughter of Col. Peter 
Bard, a member of his Majesty's Council, and one of 
the Judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. She 
was baptized in infancy by Rev. Mr. Talbot. In 1742 
Mr. Campbell records the building of a church at Mount 
Holly. Mr. Campbell officiated at Burlington, Bristol, 
and Mount Holly, and gained the love of his scattered 
flocks. God blessed his labors. In 1761 Mr. Campbell 
was one of twelve clergy who met in Convention in 
Philadelphia. That was a day of small numbers. Mr. 
Campbell asked the Society for an itinerant missionary 
for West Jersey, as he was the only one in Burlington, 
Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland or Cape May Counties. 
He refers gratefully to the Society's bounty by which 
for over twenty-eight years he has been enabled to 
maintain his numerous family. His people in the dif- 



BRISTOL (FA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 6 1 

ferent points desired his services, and it was difficult to 
give them all that they wished. It is interesting to note 
that the wife of Governor William Franklin, of New 
Jersey sent a surplice to Mr. Campbell as a present to 
the Burlington church. The Governor was the son of 
Benjamin Franklin. 

Mr. Campbell died in 1766, and was buried in Bur- 
lington church, a large number of people testifying by 
their presence a regard for his memory. Rev. Dr. 
William Smith, of Philadelphia, preached the funeral 
sermon. He speaks of the honesty and faithfulness of 
the deceased clergyman, especially discharging "his 
most sacred trust, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus." 
He was peaceful, and ready to bear jvrong. Mr. Camp- 
bell left nine children. A descendant who lived near 
Tienton presented a portrait of this worthy ancestor to 
St. Mary's Church, and it was preserved in the sacristy. 
Tablets have been placed in St. Mary's to the memory 
of two clergy who also had charge of Bristol, Mr. 
Campbell, and Mr. Weyman. George Whitfield preach- 
ed in St. Mary's once when Mr. Campbell was rector. 
Elizabeth Graeme, daughter of Dr. Graeme, and grand- 
daughter of Sir William Keith, Lieutenant Governor of 
Pennsylvania, wrote a feeling poem on the death of 
Colin Campbell, It is dated at Graeme Park, which is 
near Hatboro, Pa. The lady was famed as a poet and 
scholar. I have seen her manuscript volume of a trans- 
lation of Telemaque at the Philadelphia Library. Mr. 
Campbell's eldest son married a daughter of Bishop 
Seabury. 

The Rev. Colin Campbell was the minister of Bur- 
lington for twenty-nine years. 

The successor of Mr. Campbell was Rev. Jonathan 
Odell in 1768. Dr. Drumm mentions but one record 



62 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

about him, but by turning again to Dr. Hills's "History 
of St. Mary's," I find much recorded. His picture 
there given indicates a gentleman of the olden time. 
He was inducted into St. Ann's (now St. Mary's), Bur- 
lington, in 1767. It was the English custom that when 
a rector was inducted he should first pray privately, and 
then toll the bell to call his parishioners to the church. 
The birthplace of Mr. Odell was Newark, New Jersey, 
and he first saw the light in 1 733. He received an M. A. 
from Nassau Hall ; studied medicine, and became a 
surgeon in the British Army, but he left it when 
stationed in the West Indies to enter a higher service, 
and went to England to prepare for Holy Orders, and 
enter the spiritual a^my of the King of Heaven, and 
carry the banner of Christ to this new land. In 1766 
Bishop Terrick ordained him deacon in the Chapel 
Royal of St. James's Palace, in Westminster; and the 
next year he was ordained priest. Bishop Terrick was 
Bishop of London, and the American missions in this 
region were under the care of the Bishop of London 
before there were any American bishops. In 1772 Rev. 
William Thomson, missionary at Trenton, married Mr. 
Odell to Anne De Cou. The missionary added the 
practice of medicine to his clerical duties that he might 
have means to support his family. The Parish Register 
has records of the baptism of his children, Mary and 
William Franklin. 

Dr. Odell was a poet of note. He was in charge of 
St. Mary's Church for nine years and five months. Be- 
ing bound to England by his ordination oath, according 
to his judgment, at the Revolution he was loyal to the 
mother country, and went to New Brunswick, where he 
became secretary of the Council; holding the office 
thirty years, and retiring in advanced life. He died in 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 6$ 

Frederickton, ' X. B., in 1818, at the age of 81. His 
widow, Ann, died at the same place in 1825, at the age 
of 85. The following extract from some lines to his 
wife are now appropriate : 

" For our Redeemer liveth, and we know, 
How or whenever parted here below, 
His faithful servants in the Realm above. 
Shall meet again as heirs of His eternal love." 

Bishop Mcllvaine, in his early youth, was the person 
who was the means of opening the Sunday-school in 
Burlington, under the rectorship of Dr. Wharton. 

The Bishop's mother, Maria Reed, was baptized by 
Dr. Odell. 

The Rev. Mr. Lewis was pastor of St. James's Church, 
Bristol, at the breaking out of the Revolutionary War. 
There was trouble in connection with the war, as the 
church was esteemed English, and the church building 
was spoiled, and American cavalry used it as a stable, 
and afterward the church was used as a barn. While it 
was hard to rise from such a depression, God delivered 
his people; so that in 1785 the parish was admitted to 
the convention, though it had no minister. It was 
represented by the layman, Christopher Merrick. 

In 1809 there were nineteen clergy in Pennsylvania, 
but none in Bucks County. In August, 1806, Rev. 
Henry Waddell was engaged to officiate fortnightly. 
He was rector of St. Michael's, Trenton, also serving 
Bristol. He appears to have closed his connection with 
this parish in 18 10. 

About 1S10 Rev. Dr. John Andrews was rector. The 
exact date is not given. He was a native of Maryland, 
and a graduate of the College of Philadelphia, and was 
ordained in England, and was settled at Lewes, Dela- 



64 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

ware, and at York, Pennsylvania. He was afterward in 
Maryland, and later became the head of the Episcopal 
Academy, when it was established in Philadelphia. He 
was vice-provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and 
afterward provost. He is buried in Christ Church yard, 
Philadelphia. He was benevolent and cheerful, and an 
eloquent preacher and a good theologian. The Rev. Dr. 
John Andrews Harris, of Chestnut Hill, is his great 
grandson. For a longer notice of this clergyman, see 
the Appendix of the "Early Clergy of Pennsylvania 
and Delaware," and Dr. Sprague's "Annals of the 
Episcopal Clergy," and " York, " in this volume. 

In the month of February, 1813, Rev. Richard Drason 
Hall became rector of Bristol. He was blessed in his 
work. In 18 15 preparations were made for altering the 
old church. John Harrison was appointed collector for 
Bensalem Township to raise funds, and Joseph King 
and James Wright for Bristol Township and Borough, 
and George Remson for Newport; and in 1818 the 
church was repaired at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars. 

A lot in Attleboro of over half an acre belonged to 
the church in 181 6, but it is not now owned by the 
parish. 

It is noteworthy in those times that Mr. Hall took an 
offering for Foreign Missions. He was zealous and suc- 
cessful, and, under God, resuscitated the parish. Captain 
William Fenton and his wife, Miss Sallie Hibbs, Mrs. 
Groom and Mrs. Naomi Broadnax were contemporaries 
of Mr. Hall. This rector lived in Cedar Street, between 
Walnut and Mulberry Streets, in a house owned by the 
Rousseau family, which was then a parsonage. He had 
over a dozen preaching places, which were thought to 
have included Trenton, Newtown, Attleboro, Hulmeville 
and Newport, and down to Bustleton, and beyond ; and 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 65 

for a- time he made regular trips to Salem, New Jersey, 
in a sloop, for religious work. He resigned in June, 
181 8, and thanks were passed for his religious instruction 
and example. 

A pamphlet sermon has been given me which this de- 
voted man preached in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, 
on the evening of Xew Year's Day, 1S1S; and also on 
the nth of January in St. James's Church, Bristol. The 
old yellow paper contains some burning words, and the 
discourse is entitled, "An Humble Attempt to Promote 
the Salvation of the Rising Generation ; or, The Bene- 
fits of Early Piety." Here are a part of the closing 
words : " I wish you God-speed in your heavenly course, 
and heartily pray that you may continue to be bright 
examples of everything good; good children to your 
parents ; good citizens of your country , fruitful mem- 
bers of the Church Militant ; and finally, when your 
great change cometh, may you pass away to the 
everlasting embraces of your God, to join the re- 
deemed throng in ascribing salvation to God and the 
Lamb forever and ever." Such an exhortation is good 
for the youth of Bristol to-day, and for all time. 

REV. RICHARD DRASON HALL. 

Rev. B. J. Douglass has prepared, at my solicitation, 
a sketch of the life of this good man, which gives needed 
information for the following notice. 

Mr. Hall was very active in church work in the Dio- 
cese of Pennsylvania. He was the son of Parry and 
Elizabeth Drason Hall, born in the city of Philadelphia 
in 1789. Bishop White ordained him deacon in 1812, 
and priest in 1S14. He became rector of St. James's 
Church, Bristol, and was successful in his work. He was 
zealous in his Master's service and rejoiced at the Holy 



66 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

Communion when numbers of the faithful joined him in 
that blessed sacrament. His great thought was to bring 
men to God, and he delighted when he saw the fruit of 
his labors. In writing Rev. Jacob M. Douglass he 
advises him to study his own heart and the Word of God 
and to be diligent to improve every moment of time to 
God's glory, and man's good. He carried out the advice 
he gave, and was full of missionary enthusiasm. In 
schoolhouses and private houses, during the week, he 
would proclaim his gospel message. He spoke from the 
heart and his burning words carried conviction to the 
hearers. When he preached for Dr. Pilmore at St. 
Paul's, Philadelphia, crowds would await him in the lec- 
ture room. His wife Mary, daughter of the High Sheriff 
of Philadelphia, John Douglass, seconded him in good 
works. She is to be numbered among the many holy 
women in Philadelphia who have aided those who were 
in bodily or spiritual sickness, adorning Christ's doctrine. 
She was a parishioner of St. Paul's, Philadelphia, before 
marriage. After her death Rev. Jacob M. Douglass 
wrote a sketch, which was printed, describing her Christ- 
like works in her various places of abode, and the loving 
esteem in which she was held by those to whom she 
ministered. She died in 1817, and is buried by her hus- 
band in St. Paul's churchyard, Philadelphia. In 1819 
Mr. Hall accepted the rectorship of Trinity Church, 
Wilmington, Del. With ^missionary zeal he gave fre- 
quent visits to the church at New London Cross Roads, 
in Pennsylvania. On Sundays the church was too small 
for the congregation. Mr. Hall reported an interesting 
confirmation to the Advancement Society. In 1824 Mr. 
Hall married Sarah Lucas, of Burlington, N. J. Her 
father was Major Robert Lucas. The Rev. Dr. Hills's 
History of St. Mary's, Burlington, has a note of the 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 67 

marriage. In 1826 Mr. Hall entered on the rectorship 
of York, Pa., and Christ Church, Huntington. His 
second wife died here. In 1829 he became rector of St. 
George's, Hempstead, L. I. Rev. Dr. Moore of that 
parish wrote Mr. Douglass of his faithful work there. 
He was assiduous in duty, and held services in houses 
and schoolhouses in the outlying parts of his extended 
parish. He baptized many adults and children, and 
brought a good number "to Confirmation and the Holy 
Communion." In 1831 he married Mary Douglass, the 
daughter of Andrew Douglass, and the sister of Rev. 
Jacob M. Douglass, who performed the marriage cere- 
mony. In 1837 Mr. Hall entered on the rectorship of 
St. Mary's, Hamiltonville, now West Philadelphia. He 
labored here with zeal and self-denial to lay foundations 
where there is now a strong parish. By reason of bodily 
infirmity in later life he could not hold a parish but 
preached and baptized and administered the Holy Com- 
munion for his brethren as occasion offered. He was 
chaplain at the Episcopal Hospital from 1854 to 1856. 
This Philadelphia institution of loving Christian charity 
was a noble sphere of labor. He was ready to serve 
Christ to the end of life. " He closed a long and useful 
life July 28th, 1873, and lies buried in the churchyard of 
St. Paul's, that church whose walls in former days had 
so often echoed to the sound of his persuasive and 
earnest voice awakening the spiritually dead to the thrill 
of a higher life. The simple record of such a life is its 
best eulogy." The only surviving child of this clergy- 
men is Dr. Andrew Douglass Hall, an earnest church- 
man, and an eminent surgeon who makes a specialty of 
"treatment of the eye." 

Between 1818 and 1822 Dr. Higbee and Mr. Jackson, 
afterward rector, officiated occasionally. In 1821 Robert 



68 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

Lucas gave a legacy of one hundred dollars to the 
church. 

In 1822 Rev. Mr. Jaquette became rector, but resigned 
the next year. He was a teacher of Hebrew, and was 
perhaps, connected with the Philadelphia Divinity 
School. 

The next rector was Albert A. Muller, formerly of 
South Carolina. His rectorship was short. Rev. John 
V. E. Thorn was his successor. His rectorship was also 
short. He was an eminently evangelical man. I observe 
his name in the clergy list in the Diocesan Journal of 
Delaware in 1844, though he is marked as residing at 
Carlisle, Pa. See Gettysburg in this volume for a farther 
notice of him. 

The Rev. William H. Rees was elected rector in 1828, 
and resigned in 1830. For thirty years or more he 
served the church at large in various positions. He re- 
ceived the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He died in 
Newark, N. J., and was buried in a churchyard in a lot 
given by the vestry. Bishop Odenheimer and other 
clergy were at his funeral. A sketch of his life will be 
found in the history of Radnor parish in this volume. 

Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely was the next rector. He 
was able and zealous and the parish is believed to have 
gained under his ministry, and Rev. Mr. Perkins states 
that Newtown and Hulmeville parishes were started by 
his efforts. In his later life he resided in Maryland. 
Before studying for the ministry Mr. Ridgely was a 
pupil in the law office of Henry Clay in Kentucky, but 
he gave up the pursuit of that profession for the higher 
work of the Christian ministry. 

Rev. Thomas Jackson is recorded as rector in August, 
1832, but he soon became assistant minister to Bishop 
Moore, of Virginia. He was a clergyman of great 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 69 

worth and ability. He died in Virginia, where he was 
much beloved by the clergy of that diocese. 

In June of 1833 Rev. William S. Perkins became 
rector. A visit of Bishop White to the parish is noted 
in this rectorship The parish improved under the care 
of Mr. Perkins, and some ground was added to the 
churchyard. A Sunday-school building was erected, 
and an organ was procured. In 1854 Mr. Perkins re- 
signed on account of ill health, and the vestry passed 
resolutions of sympathy, and appropriately alluded to 
his long service. 

Rev. Henry B. Bartow supplied the church for six 
months, and then became rector in 1855. He was ardent 
and energetic. He raised funds for a new church build- 
ing. He resigned in 1857. He was amiable, cultured 
and a man of good taste. The church was completed 
without debt. Its consecration took place on the eighth 
of September, A. D. 1857. Bishop Bowman was the 
consecrator. Bishop Odenheimer, who was then rector 
of St. Peter's, Philadelphia, was present. Rev. H. B. 
Bartow and Rev. Dr. W. H. Rees, former rectors, were 
also present, as well as Rev. Messrs. Rodney, 
Gries, Lycett, Ur. Hammond, Carroll, Drs. Buchanan, 
Beasley, Langdon, and Rev. Messrs. Dupuy, Elsegood, 
Dr. Charles Breck, and Rev. Messrs. Newbold, Henry 
Brown, of Beverly, Dr. Hoffman, and the rector. The 
church was crowded. Mr. Bartow read the sentence of 
consecration. Bishop Bowman preached the sermon from 
Psalm 29: 2 ; " Give unto the Lord the honor due unto 
His Name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holi- 
ness." Numbers came in from the surrounding country. 

At the evening service Dr. Stevens, rector of St. An- 
drew's, Philadelphia, (afterward bishop,) preached. 
Fifteen were confirmed by Bishop Bowman. It was a 



JO BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

day long to be remembered in Bristol. Rev. Joseph W. 
Pierson was rector at the time of the consecration. The 
text of Bishop Stevens was, "Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev\ 2: 10. 
Bishop Bowman preached on Wednesday morning, ac- 
cording to the Banner of the Cross, a warm and earnest 
sermon in a solemn manner. His deep-toned piety and 
truly Catholic spirit are mentioned. 

On Friday evening Rev. Dr. Newton gave a thought- 
ful, pathetic, scriptural and awakening sermon which 
moved some to tears. 

Mr. Pierson resigned this parish in 1S61, and went to 
Auburn, N. Y., where he died "in the very prime of life 
and usefulness." A memorial window in the church at 
Auburn commemorates him. 

Rev. Dr. William W. Spear succeeded him, and was 
one of ability and worth to follow so good a predecessor. 
He came from Emmanuel Church in Cumberland, Mary- 
land. He resigned on account of ill health, and became 
rector at Bridgeton, Xew Jersey. 

Dr. Drumm followed Dr. Spear in the rectorship. He 
had been a chaplain in the Arm}*. His rectorate began 
February 1st, A. D. 1863, when he was a deacon. In 
the autumn of iS6i- after he had served a year as chap- 
lain and acting assistant surgeon Dr. Spear secured him 
as a supply at Bristol during a necessary absence, which 
ended in the resignation of Dr. Spear, and the selection 
of Dr. Drumm to succeed him. The Rev. John H. 
Drumm was ordained Presbyter by Right Rev. William 
Bacon Stevens, February 15th, 1S63. His last entry of 
baptisms was on March 19th, 1875, making 235 during 
his rectorship. His last class for confirmation was pre- 
sented June 14th, 1874 and consisted of fourteen persons, 
making 134 confirmed during his rectorship. On closing 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 7 1 

his faithful work here the Doctor took charge of St. 
Mark's Church, in New Britain, Connecticut, where he 
remaind for a short time, and returned to reside at 
Bristol, where he died, at the age of fifty -two. He was 
buried in St. James's churchyard, near the chancel of the 
church. Under a sculptured cross lies this devoted man. 
His inscription reads, Rev. John Hetherington Drumm, 
D.D., born May 22d, 1827, died March 5th, 1879. "For- 
ever with the Lord." The grave is under a willow, in a 
place selected by himself. This rector was a scholarly 
man, and is known to the church at large by his book 
entitled Vox Ecclesicz, in which he maintains the church 
doctrine concerning Holy Orders. In appearance he was 
thoughtful, and one who felt the dignity and responsi- 
bility of his great" office, while he was also affable. 

The Rev. John Hetherington Drumm, M. D., D. D., 
was born in Dublin, Ireland, May 3, 1827. He was edu- 
cated at private schools, and as a boy, was noted as a 
ready and clear writer. He matriculated and for three 
years attended lectures in the Medical Department of 
Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated M. D. in Uni- 
versity College, New York City. He settled, married 
and practised medicine in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. 
While practising, he studied theology and was ordained 
deacon by Right . Rev. Dr. Binney, Bishop of Nova 
Scotia, in March 1857 at the age of thirty. He had 
charges at Bridgewater, Sackville and Halifax, Nova 
Scotia. In October, '58, he became rector of St. James's 
Church, Dundaff, Pa. His first wife having died in Nova 
Scotia, he married Miss Jeannie Graham, of Dundaff, who 
still survives him. At the breaking out of the Civil War 
he became Chaplain of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and did 
both clerical and surgical service during the Sundays 
"change of base" under McClellan. Resigning his 



72 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

chaplaincy, he received and accepted a call to succeed 
Rev. Dr. Spear as rector of St. James's Church, Bristol, 
Pa. While here, he wrote his book " Vox Ecclesice" 
which will ever make his name memorable. Hobart 
College, in April 1866, conferred on him the degree of 
D. D., as an appreciative mark of the value of his work 
to the church at large. After ten years service at Bristol 
he resigned his charge to become rector of St. Mark's, 
Isew Britain, Conn. Ill health forced a resignation two 
years afterwards. After partial recovery, he went with 
his wife to Western Texas, and did missionary duty at 
San-Saba for nearly twelve months. 

Dr. Drumm was followed by Rev. John C. Brooks, a 
brother of Phillips Brooks, who became rector, when a 
deacon, in 1876. He was ordained to the priesthood by 
Bishop Stevens on February 4th, 1877, in St. James's 
Church. He presented a class of eighteen for confirma- 
tion on the evening of this day. He resigned in 1877. 
The corner-stone of the commodious and beautiful 
brown stone chapel was laid in 1877. It was built by the 
Ladies' Church Aid Society. 

The successor of Mr. Brooks was J. W. Lee, who re- 
signed in 1885. There were two hundred and six bap- 
tisms, and seventy-seven confirmations during his rector- 
ship. 

After Mr. Lee's resignation, Rev. T. William David- 
son supplied the parish for a time. He presented a class 
of thirteen to Bishop Stevens for confirmation on the 
27th of May, 1 886. 

The present rector, Rev. William Leggett Kolb, 
entered on his duties June 1st, 1887. The baptisms 
under this rector up to July 16th, 1S90, have been eighty- 
seven, and the confirmations seventy. May the future 
show still greater fruits to the glory of God in the 



BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 73 

Christian work of this rector. I gladly render him my 
thanks for assistance in reducing the useful sermon of 
Dr. Drumm into its present condensed and available 
shape for this volume, for the facts are mostly from that 
source. 

Those who have received testimonials for ordination 
from the vestry of this parish, or who had their homes 
in Bristol when they were admitted to the sacred minis- 
try, are Charles P. Henry, who was connected with 
Bristol College. This name is followed by that of a 
"Mr. — — ," and James Lloyd Breck, the son of the 
longtime senior warden, and the founder of Nashotah 
Theological Seminary, and Faribault Divinity School, 
in Minnesota, and St. Augustine's College, at Benicia, 
California, must next be named. Rev. Dr. Charles 
Breck, his brother, is next in order, and Dr. Drumm, 
Thomas L. Murphy, Henry K. Brouse, M. D., and Mr. 
Brooks close the list. Dr. Brouse is in Woodville, Miss- 
issippi. 

In bringing these notes down to date it should be 
added that Rev. W. S. Perkins died March 28th, 1890. 
He was buried from St. James's Church on the 31st of 
March, and his place of burial was in the churchyard. 

At one time this church bought a rectory on Radcliffe 
street. Bristol is an old town, dating back to Penn's 
days. It was named after the English " Bristow faire," 
as Spenser styles it. That town lay on the Avon, and 
this by the waves of the Delaware, which Doctor Odell 
in a poem called, "The Prince of the Rivers," which 
"In silence majestic glides on to the Deep." 

But a few miles from the English Bristol was Bath, 

famed for its medicinal waters from Saxon and Roman 

times. It also lay on the banks of the Avon. The Bath 

Springs, near the Pennsylvania Bristol, were the New- 

6 



74 BRISTOL (PA.) ST. JAMES THE GREATER. 

port and Saratoga combined of this country in old times, 
and were even visited by persons from the old country. 
Let us go into the churchyard of this old parish. Here 
sleeps the grandfather of Bishop Mcllvaine in the church 
or in the sacred ground. He died in early mid-life. 
Colonel Joseph Mcllvaine was born, according to his 
epitaph, on March 21st, 1749, and died February 17th, 
1787. The Rev. Dr. Rees is buried here. The Sunday- 
school chapel covered with ivy, is a pleasant companion 
to the church in this quiet spot. The Rev. Jacob Mor- 
gan Douglass, born in 1794, dying in 1876, has a granite 
monument, and there is an inscription to Mary Hall, his 
wife, who died in 1876. Mrs. Mary Hall, consort of the 
Rev. Richard D. Hall, who departed this life February 
5th, 18 1 7, has a monument here. A cross, and an I. H. 
S. are on the tomb, with the words of Christ, " Come ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom/' etc., St. 
Matt. 25: 34-38. The voice from heaven pronouncing 
the dead blessed, Rev. 14 : 13, and the "Well done 
good and faithful servant," of St. Matthew 25: 21, are 
added, and such comforting texts well befit the tomb of 
a Christian. There is a square-pillared upright stone in- 
scribed on each side. Here is buried Antonin Furcy 
Pigquet, Knight of the Order of St. Louis, Captain of 
the French Navy, and Consul of France for the States 
of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. He was 
born in France in 1777, and died in Bristol. Captain 
Green who carried our flag to China, and Captain Sharp 
are buried in St. James's churchyard. David Landreth's 
massive shaft is marked August 31st, 1845. " Requiescat 
in Pace." His wife, Martha Burnett, who is here com- 
memorated, was a descendant of the English Bishop 
Burnett. She was a second wife. The first w T ife also 
has an inscription, and she was Elizabeth Rodney. The 



BRYN MAWR^PA.) THE REDEEMER. 75 

son David is also named on the monument. The De 
Normandie family, of ancient date, are also buried in 
this yard. - Rev. James De Normandie was rector of 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, of later years. 

The Keene Home on the river bank should be made 
a living monument of her who gave this Pavilion, as it 
was called, for the use of gentlewomen. It was the home 
of Major Lenox, the uncle of Miss Keene. Joseph Bona- 
parte was entertained here. 

In 1722 the Bath Springs were celebrated, and people 
came hither from abroad down to 182 1. It was the 
principal resort of the kind in the United States. Gen- 
eral Davis's History of Bucks County contains some in- 
teresting matter about this ancient town. Now manu- 
factures and the railway are modernizing it, but it is 
pleasant sometimes to talk with the past, and look on 
the joys and sorrows of those who have lived before us, 
and the churchyard at Bristol is a sweet place on a sum- 
mer's day to wake thoughts of the dead in Christ in past 
or recent years, and especially of the clergy who have 
now ended their sacred toil ,and entered into their prom- 
ised rest. 

BRYN MAWR (PA.) THE REDEEMER. 
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

185 1. Sunday, August 3d." After divine service, con- 
ducted by the Rev. Henry Brown, rector of St. David's, 
Radnor, in Temperance Hall, above the eight-mile 
stone on the Lancaster turnpike, in Lower Merion, a 
meeting was held for the purpose of organizing a parish ; 
and the following-named persons were selected to act as 
vestrymen : Frederic W. Porter, Jesse Gyger, Isaac 
Hazlehurst, John Hulme, Lewis Wister, David Morgan, 
James Morgan, Owen Jones, Joseph K. Eyre. 



76 BRYN MAWR (?A.)*THE REDEEMER. 

August 9th. First vestry meeting. Church to be 
named St. Luke's, Lower Merion. Rev. Henry Brown 
chosen rector. (See Chester and Radno,r.) 

November 21. Corner stone of church (on North side 
Lancaster turnpike, above eight-mile stone) laid by the 
Bishop of Pennsylvania, Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, D. D. 

November 226. Name changed to Church of the 
Redeemer. 

1852. February 19th. Charter of incorporation granted 
by the Supreme Court. 

1855. September 23d. Resignation of the rector, Rev. 
Henry Brown. 

1856. February 9th. Rev. George S. Rider elected 
rector. 

April 27th. Resignation of the rector, Rev. George 
S. Rider. 

September 7th. Rev. E. L. Lycett elected rector. 

1878. August 5th. Death of the rector, Rev. E. L 
Lycett. First burial in new churchyard. 

November 28th. Rev. Edward Shippen Watson 
elected rector. 

1879. November 8th. Corner-stone of new church, 
on Penn Street and Gulf Road, laid by the Bishop of 
Nebraska, Rt. Rev. Robert Harper Clarkson, D. D. 

1 88 1. April 17th. Easter Day. First service in new 
church. 

1 88 1. October 6th. Church and churchyard conse- 
crated by the Bishop of Pennsylvania, the Rt. Rev. 
Wm. Bacon Stevens, D. D. 

1885. March 2d. New charter granted by the Court 
of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. 

I add that Rev. J. Gilborne Lyons, D. D., was long at 
the head of a boy's school, and a worshiper in the 
former church, and a distinguished scholar and poet. 



BRYX MAWR (PA.) THE REDEEMER. 7 7 

REV. E. L. LYCETT. 

( COMMUNICATED. ) 

Rev. E. L. Lycett was ordained a deacon in March, 
1854, by Bishop Potter. In 1855 he was ordained priest 
by the same bishop, in Philadelphia. Mr. Lycett was 
born in London, April 8th, 1820, and came to America 
in 1832. He studied in Baltimore under Rev. R. S. 
Killen and Rev. Henry V. Johns, brother of Bishop 
Johns, of Virginia. Immediately after hi^ ordination as 
deacon he was sent by Bishop Potter to Bangor Church, 
Churchtown, Lancaster County, Pa., and to St. Thomas's 
Church, Morgantown, where he remained till October, 
1856, when he was called to the Church of The Re- 
deemer, Lower Merion, of which he was rector till the 
time of his death in August, 1878. In 1858 he com- 
menced services in Conshohocken, five miles from Nor- 
ristown, w r here he held service every Sunday afternoon, 
and evening services during the week, at the homes of 
the mill hands. He continued this work until October, 
1863. When this work was commenced in the school- 
house, there was but one male communicant; before he 
left, there was a substantial building costing S3500. 
After giving up this work he immediately started even- 
ing services in his own dining-room at Mill Creek. In 
a short time he procured a room in the neighborhood 
which he had fitted up as a chapel and Sunday-school 
room, where he held services every Sunday evening 
until after he removed to the present rectory. It was 
then determined that the village of Ardmore presented 
a more promising field. Accordingly, he began hold- 
ing evening services, Sunday, in the Masonic Hall at 
Ardmore, and also organized a Sunday-school there — 
the rent of the hall and other expenses being defrayed 
by members of this parish. 



78 CARLISLE (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 

[Note— The beautiful granite monument of Mr. Lycett in the 
rustic churchyard keeps his memory in mind among his old par- 
ishioners, and his friend, the author of this work, recollects the 
throng of surpliced clergy, and laity who, by attendance at his 
funeral at the former church, attested their sense of loss in his death. ] 

The names of vestrymen at the time of building of 
the present beautiful church were N. Parker Shortridge, 
George Curwen, (wardens), I. Hunter Ewing, James 
Rawle, Fred. W. Morris, Charles Wheeler, Henry 
Whelen, Archibald R. Montgomery, Rowland Evans. 

Rev. James Haughton, the present rector, was born 
in Boston, April 14th, 1839, studied in Harvard College, 
Andover and Germany. He was ordained deacon by- 
Bishop Eastburn, in Boston 1866, and priest by Bishop 
Chase, N. H., 1866 ; he was rector in Exeter, N. H., 
1866-68; Hanover, N. H., 1868-76; Dean All Saints 
Cathedral, Albany, 1876-79; rector of St. John's, Yori- 
kers, N. Y., 1879-87, when he came to Bryn Mawr. 

An elaborate metal rood-screen, designed by Mr. 
Burns, adorns this church. It is a memorial to Charles 
Wheeler. 

CARLISLE (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 

In the History of Cumberland County, "by Rev. Con- 
way P. Wing, D. D., and others" there are some notes 
on the history of this church. 

"An Episcopal congregation was established in Car- 
lisle before July 5th, 1753, when a letter from that place 
speaks of Rev. Wm Thompson, rector of the Episco- 
pal church, and its building for worship had been used 
in an unfinished state before 1765." 

After the distractions of the Revolutionary War were 
over, a church was erected. This stone building was 
used until 1825, when a new building arose " where the 




/ 



CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUt'S. 79 

present church stands. This has been remodeled sev- 
eral times until it has 'attained its present architectural 
form and proportions." From 1793 to 1819, Rev. Dr. 
John Campbell was rector. Rev. J. V. E. Thorn suc- 
ceeded him from 1819 to 1821. See Gettysburg in this 
volume for notice of his work. George Woodruff became ' 
rector in 182 1, but died the next year. Joshua Spencer 
held the rectorship -from 1823 to 1829. He was also Pro- 
fessor of Languages in Dickinson College. Rev. Geo. 
Emlen Hare, D. D., was rector from 1830 to 1834, John 
Goodman from 1835 to 1838, Patrick Henry Greenleaf 
from 1838 to 1840, Wm. H. Norris from 1840 to 1850, 
Jacob B. Morss from 185 1 to i860, Francis J. Clerc from 
i860 to 1866 and Rev. Dr. Wm. C. Leverett succeeded 
him in 1866. Rev. W. B. Morrow, Mus. Baa, is the 
present rector, 

In the Vestry have been men of note, "as Francis 
West, Robert Callender, George Croghan, Samuel 
Postlethwaite, David Watts, Stephen Fculke, Frederick 
Watts and John B. Parker." 

CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

[From the Standard of the Cross, and The Church, of March 
31, 1888.] 

Nearly twenty-eight years ago, on the 23d of. June, 
i860, the earliest meeting was held for the purpose of 
establishing the first Protestant Episcopal church in the 
township of Cheltenham. At that time a number of 
those most interested in the accomplishment of this ob- 
ject were in the habit of regularly attending the services 
and teaching in the Sunday-school of St. Paul's Church, 
Philadelphia. From time to time, prior to the date men- 
tioned, occasional services were held in private resi- 
dences in the neighborhood. A Sunday-school had 



So CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

already been organized in the vicinity, and it was deter- 
mined to establish a parish without further delay. At 
the first meeting of those sympathizing with the object 
the announcement was made that $5500 had been sub- 
scribed for the erection of a church edifice. The present 
location, at the corner of Old York Road and Chelten- 
ham Road, was decided upon. A vestry, consisting of 
the following-named gentlemen was then duly elected : 
John W. Thomas, Jay Cooke, J. F. Peniston, William 

C. Houston, John Baird, Robert Shoemaker, William G. 
Moorehead, Frederick Fraley, H. P. Birchall, Isaac 
Starr, Jr., Geo. C. Thomas and William Elliott. 

In about two months, or on the 27th of August, i860, 
a second meeting was held at which it was resolved that 
the Bishop of the Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, 

D. D., L-L. D.j should be requested to lay the corner- 
stone of the church. This pleasant duty was fulfilled by 
the Bishop on the 3d day of September, i860, in the 
presence of an interested and grateful congregation. 
Appropriate addresses were delivered by the Rev. Dr. 
William Bacon Stevens (then rector of St. Andrew's 
Church, Philadelphia, and subsequently for many years 
the revered and beloved Bishop of the Diocese) and the 
Rev. Richard Newton, D. D. (then rector of St. Paul's 
Church, Philadelphia, and an earnest and interested 
friend of the infant church enterprise from its earliest 
inception). Indeed, the newly-organized church was 
named after the venerable parish in which Dr. Newton 
at that time ministered. Under God it owes its origin 
and subsequent success in very large measure to the 
personal friends and devoted parishioners of this saintly 
and now sainted man. 

The Rev. Robert J. Parvin, on the 19th of April, 1861, 
was elected the first rector of the parish, and on Thurs- 



CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. Si 

day afternoon, May 16th, iS6i,the church was solemnly 

consecrated to the service of Almighty God by the 
Bishop of the Diocese. The clergy present and assist- 
ing in the services, in addition to the Bishop and the 
rector, were the Revs. Charles D. Cooper, Benjamin 
Watson, D. C. Millett, J. W. Cracraft and O. B. Keith. 
The Rev. Dr. Newton preached the sermon. On Sun- 
day, May 19th, 1S61 (Whit-Sunday), morning and even- 
ing services were held in the church, and the Sunday- 
school was organized in the afternoon. On the 28th of 
March, 1S64, plans for a new Sunday-school and library 
building were adopted by the vestry, and active meas- 
ures taken for its immediate erection. In the year 1S66 
a new organ was placed in the church. After an earnest 
and devoted ministry of more than five years and a half 
the Rev. Robert J. Parvin resigned the. rectorship of the 
church, the resignation to take effect January 1st. 1867. 
The Rev. Mr. Parvin had been elected the first General 
Secretary of the Evangelical Educational Society, a 
work for which his singular talents and executive ability 
especially qualified him. A little less than two years 
later his many friends and the Church at large were 
startled by the sudden and appalling catastrophe by 
which he and his intimate friend, the Rev. F. S. Rising, 
General Secretary of the American Church Missionary 
Society, lost their lives by the burning of a steamer on 
the Ohio River on the 14th of December, 1S6S. A 
beautiful mural tablet of white marble in the church 
testifies the affection of the people for their former 
pastor. 

The present rector of the church, the Rev. Edward 
W. Appleton, D. D., entered upon the duties of the rec- 
torship on the 30th day of June, 1S67, having been 
unanimously elected to the office on the 19th day of the 
same month. 



8 2 CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUL 5. 

Nearly twenty-one years have passed away since 
then, and man}' changes have taken place. The church 
building was enlarged and beautified, and on the 23d of 
February, 1868, the congregation met therein for the 
first time, the sermon being preached by Bishop Lee, of 
Iowa. More, than $7000 was raised and appropriated 
for this improvement, and during the same year a spa- 
cious and attractive rectory was completed and present- 
ed to the parish by two generous members of the 
vestry. The cost of the rectory and grounds amounted 
to 517,000. In addition to these improvements a sex- 
ton's house, and a large and commodious hall were 
built during the same year, at an expense of S7000; 
the hall being erected for the use of the Men's Bible 
Class (at that time numbering 130 members) and for 
secular purposes. 

In the year 1869 a large, massive stone tower, con- 
taining a clock with four dials (each dial being over 
eight feet in diameter) was commenced, and completed 
the following year. It is an interesting fact that for this 
improvement, as well as the purchase of a new, large 
and sweet-toned organ nearly ten years later (1879), the 
parish is indebted to the loving, earnest and devoted 
efforts of the younger members of the congregation. 
On the 1 8th of March, 1882, the rector's warden of the 
parish from its foundation, Mr. John W. Thomas, was 
called to his rest and reward. As a loving memorial to 
her husband and two daughters, his widow presented to 
the church a chime of ten bells. They were placed in 
the tower at a cost of S4000. In the year 1882-3 a 
South transept was added to the church edifice at a cost 
of more than S4000, at the sole expense of Mr. Charles 
B. Wright, as a memorial to his wife and daughter. 
The transept is now occupied by the organ and choir. 



CHELTENHAM (PA.) ST. PAUl/s. &3 

The enlarged church, refurnished with new pews of 
hard wood, was formally re-opened by the Bishop of the 
Diocese, Sunday morning, February i8th, 1S83. 

In 1887 a chiming apparatus was imported from Eng- 
land, and the Cambridge quarter chimes are regularly 
operated by the clock. " In September, 1887, the church 
and recton* were lighted by incandescent electric lights, 
and it is believed that these are among the first church 
buildings in the country, certainly in a suburban neigh- 
borhood, lighted by this method. The expense of in- 
troducing these lights into the church and rectory was 
met almost entirely by a single generous-hearted parish- 
ioner, who also maintains them at his individual cost. 
Since Dr. Appleton entered upon his duties as rector of 
the parish in 1867 the sum of 3173,000 has been (inde- 
pendent of pew rents) contributed for religious and be- 
nevolent objects. 

The following official acts have also been performed 
during the same period : Baptisms — infants, 351; adults, 
115 ; total, 466. Confirmed, 347 ; marriages, ^3 ; burials, 
202. 

The vestry of the church is now composed of the 
following-named gentlemen: Jay Cooke, rector's warden, 
Robert Shoemaker, accounting warden, Dell Noblit, 
Jay Cooke, Jr., Thos. E. Shoemaker, James Day Row- 
land, John M. Butler, Hub. R. Hammond, Ed. M. 
Davis, Jr., Dr. Thomas B. Betts, Charles D. Barney 
and Benjamin H. Shoemaker, Jr. Located in one of 
the most beautiful suburbs of Philadelphia, this church 
has accomplished a noble and blessed work for Christ 
and humanity. Having every external advantage, it 
has also proved itself a spiritual home for many among 
the living as well as for many who are now with the 
sainted dead. In its peaceful and secluded "God's Acre" 



84 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

adjoining the church not a few await a call to a blessed 
immortality. In these days of changing pastorates the 
present rector and people have for many years rejoiced 
in mutual joys and sorrowed in mutual griefs. They 
cherish the hope that God may continue to bless the 
parish in which for more than a score of years they 
have labored together for the glory of the Divine Mas- 
ter and the welfare and success of His Church. 

CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

The historical sketch of Chester, by William Shaler 
Johnson, Esq., gives means of gathering the history of 
this truly ancient parish. 

In 1704 this parish reported to the Propagation Soci- 
ety in England as follows: "The people of Chester 
County showed very early zeal to have the Church of 
England worship settled among them. This county is 
so called because most of the inhabitants of it came 
from Cheshire in England. Chester, the chief town of 
the county, is finely situated on the River Delaware." 
The name Chester, it may be added, comes from the 
Latin word Castrum, a camp, through the Saxon, and the 
English towns which have that word introduced into 
their names were old Roman camps in the days when 
the Empire ruled Britain. There were originally but 
three counties in the province, Philadelphia, Chester 
and Bucks. 

Jasper Yeates was a Philadelphian, but w T as born in 
Yorkshire, England. His wife was the daughter of the 
elder James Sandilands, who was a man of much con- 
sequence in Chester. Her name was Catharine. In 
1697 Mr. Yeates bought mills and land at the mouth of 
Naaman's Creek, at what is now Claymont, as the Indian 
chief Naaman is now losing his remembrance. The 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. S5 

Churchman family long occupied and owned mills here. 
Mr. Yeates soon had a granary and bakery between 
Edgmont Avenue and Chester Creek, though the course 
of the creek was West of its present line. In 1701, Penn 
appointed this prominent man a Burgess in making the 
Borough of Chester. In 1703 he was Chief Burgess. 
He was a Justice of the County and of the Supreme 
Court, and "a member of the Provincial Council," and 
the General Assembly. "He and his brother-in-law, 
James Sandilands the younger, were the principal pro- 
moters of the building of St. Paul's Church." He died 
before May 2d, 1720, when his will was admitted to pro- 
bate at New Castle, Delaware, "Four sons and two 
daughters" survived him. 

The Journal of William Black in 1744 notes a Sunday 
in Chester. He describes a church dedicated to St. 
Paul, where the worship was according to the Church 
of England, where he and other Indian Commissioners 
heard Rev. Mr Backhouse preach on St. Luke 16:30,31, 
w T hich refers to the duty of hearing " Moses and 
the prophets," This gentleman mentions a Swedish 
Church, but it is thought that the Swedes may have had 
a service in the Block-house. Armgardt Pappegoya> 
the daughter of Governor Printz, gave the Swedes' 
Church a tract of land at Chester, but the church war- 
dens at Wicacoa, (Philadelphia), deeded it to David 
Lloyd in 1693. Rev. Mr. Ross, in 1714, writes to the 
Propagation Society faulting this sale, and calling the 
title "precarious," and hoping that the church may 
regain her rights. Jasper Yeates opposed Lloyd, but 
"the Proprietary Government" confirmed the land to 
him. The land called " the green, or the church-land " 
lay between Welsh street and the Creek, South of the 
tract of Neeles Laerson, running to the river Delaware. 



86 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

Rev. Richard Backhouse, who was a missionary at 
St. Paul's from 1726 to 1749, once owned a piece of land 
on Fifth street, on which Jonathan Morris afterward 
built a house. An account of Mr. Backhouse may be 
found in the history of Radnor parish in this volume. 

The Francis Richardson house, on the East side of 
Edgmont avenue, the third house from the South-east 
corner of Second street and Edgmont avenue, is on a 
portion of the land which David Lloyd obtained from 
the church wardens of the Wicacoa Swedish Church. 
A frame building "on the East side of Edgmont avenue, 
South of Fourth street," may probably be about seventy 
years old. It was a stable, belonging to a house which 
was afterwards built on land given before 1704 by Thos. 
Powell to St. Paul's parish. Rev. Mr. Nichols speaks 
of this gift in a letter to the Society "For the Propa- 
gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts." In 1718 Rev. John 
Humphreys mentions it as having on it the foundation 
of a parsonage, fronting on Third street. The congre- 
gation began to erect this building, but did not finish it, 
and for three years it remained " about four feet above 
the ground." Many years after the parish put up a 
building here, after 1762, and they leased it before 1830 
to William Kelley, with the stable mentioned. The 
church wardens sold "the premises on ground rent in 
1831." The lot on Edgmont avenue containing the 
stable was sold by the owner, subject to a small ground 
rent for the church. The stable was altered into a house 
and " a Soap and Chandler factory " built on the rear of 
the lot. In 1 85 1 the wardens sold the ground rent, and 
so this historic bit of land passed from the hands of the 
church. 

The Swedish grant of Lady Pappegoya to the Swed- 
ish Church at Upland, now Chester, was an ancient gift. 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUl/S. 8 



u The land on the South side of Third street, and East 
of Market Square, where the old burial ground now is. 
and where the first St. Paul's Church building was erect- 
ed, was, previous to that structure being placed there, 
a burying place for the dead of the Swedish colonists at 
Upland." Rev. Mr. Ross makes this statement in 17T4. 
He says that the Swedes had a church, and "a valuable 
glebe, not far from the place of burial, but of this build- 
ing there remains no sign at this day." John Hill 
Martin thinks this a reference to the House of Defence, 
or Block-house, which was demolished by the Court's 
order in 1703, and Mr. Johnson believes this opinion to 
be (v doubtless correct." Acrelius says that the Swedes 
usually held the services of religion in forts and Houses 
of Defence. They posted sentinels to warn the worship- 
ers of Indian attacks. The Block-house at Wicacoa 
was used for a church. 

The Rev. Evan Evans, D. D., was sent by the Propa- 
gation Society to the province of Pennsylvania in 1700. 
He became the missionary of Christ Church, Philadel- 
phia. I have given an extended account of him in my 
volume on "The Pearly Clergy of Pennsylvania and 
Delaware." He was the great missionary of that day. 
and the parishes about Philadelphia started by his un- 
tiring energy in the days of hard traveling have reason 
to revere his memory. Chester felt his influence, and 
Chichester, that is St. Martin's, Marcus Hook, and St. 
John's, Concord, and St. David's, Radnor, were blessed 
by his labors. 

In 1714 Rev. Mr. Ross wrote the Society, that James 
Sandilands had been buried "in the Swedish Dormi- 
tory," that is burial ground. He was a merchant of 
good repute. The graves of himself and kindred were 
to be enclosed by a stone wall. Some one suggested 



88 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAULS. 

that the wall be enlarged to form a church or chapel. 
This was liked by the relatives, and encouraged by 
those favorable to the Church of England. Joseph 
Yeates, a Chester merchant, and James Sandilands, the 
son of the person lately interred, helped the movement 
zealously. Mr. Sandilands giving land to enlarge the 
churchyard, and adding "other gifts." Mr. Ross 
closes thus: "Mr. Yeates, a zealous asserter of our 
constitution in Church and State, must be allowed to 
have been the main promoter of the founding of St. 
Paul's upon Delaware. M The reference to the river is 
poetic, and according to English custom, as "Stratford- 
on-Avon," and I have noticed that anciently Bristol in 
Pennsylvania was styled by the Englsh Bristol on the 
Delaware. In England these explanations are necessary 
as sometimes there are two towns of the same name 
which need this identification. Still the practice is grow- 
ing here on the Hudson river. Mr. Ross's report speaks 
of other "Parishers who were chief helpers to carry on 
the work." He specially commends Jeremy Collett, 
John Hannum, Henry Pierce, Ralph Pile, and Thomas 
Barnsly, and adds special commendation for Thomas 
Powell who had donated valuable land, "for a minister's 
house, garden and other conveniences." Of Hon. Fran- 
cis Nicholson, he writes : 4l We may safely say no man 
parted more freely with his money to promote the inter- 
est of the Church in these parts, nor contributed so 
universally towards ye erection of Christian synagogues 
in different and distant plantations in America." The 
church is called a "small but compact fabric of brick," 
and described as "one of the neatest on this Continent." 
The main entrance, with its double doors, " was at the 
north side of the church, and the access to the building 
was from Market street, through the yard." Queen 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAULS. 89 

Anne gave the church "a handsome pulpit, a commun- 
ion table well railed in and set out with rich cloth, and 
a neat chalice." The "chalice and salver, the Queen's 
gift, as well as a similar chalice presented to the congre- 
gation by Sir Jeffrey Jeffries, are still in possession of 
the church wardens, and employed in the Sacrament of 
the Lord's Supper to this day," "The chalices and 
their salvers are of hammered and very pure silver, and 
the one presented by the Queen has engraved upon it 
the words, 'Annce Reginte' " 

The oak rafters of the church were hewed by a broad 
axe. The spacious chancel and aisles were paved with 
brick. In the wall was a famous stone slab now in the 
Sunday-school room of the new church. James Sandi- 
lands, who died in 1692, and his wife Ann, are com- 
memorated in the inscription, and the stone contains a 
coat-of-arms and a Latin sentence reminding the reader 
of the flight of time, and the approach of death. "Em- 
blems of mortality" are added, in "the tolling bell, the 
passing bell, the skull and cross-bones, the empty hour 
glass, an upright coffin bearing on its side the words : 
"Memento Mori" [Remember death], ''Time Deum" 
[Fear God], and in either corner crossed a scepter 
and mattock, and a mattock and spade." " James Sand i- 
lands was a Scotchman." His mother lived in Chester 
in 16&3. The first record of Mr. Sandilands is in 1665, 
when he took up two lots at Upland. In 1670 he took 
two other lots joining the land of his father-in law, 
Joran Keen, whose descendants have been so carefully 
noted at length of late by. Prof. Keen, in the Pennsylva- 
nia Magazine of History and Biography. In 1675 Sandi- 
lands was a Captain of Militia. In 1681 Col. William 
Markham appointed him a member of the Deputy Gov- 
ernor's Council. He was a Justice of the Lapland Court. 
7 



90 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

William Penn visited him, when he owned a large part 
of what is now the city of Chester, including the larger 
portions of the Middle and North wards. The rumor 
of the day among the people was that it was the inten- 
tion of Penn to build a city at Upland, but that he could 
not come to an agreement with Sandilands, and so Phila- 
delphia arose further up the stream. Sandilands was 
a member of the General Assembly of the Province. 
"St. Paul's was a memorial church, erected to keep him 
in the recollection of the inhabitants of Chester, where- 
in he had passed a busy and enterprising life." His 
widow Ann married Peter Baynton. 

The ancient church had a sun-dial, as in 1704 there is 
a record of expense in paying the ferryman for bringing 
the dial, and for nails and workmen for setting it up. 
There was also a church bell. Mr. Johnson thinks how- 
ever, that the first bell used was a hand bell. In 1743 a 
'bell w r as cast for the church in England, by Roger Rice. 
John Mather donated fifteen pounds, which was half of 
the required amount to pay its cost. A bellfry was 
erected. 

The foundation of the old church was laid in July, 
A. D. 1702, and the church was opened for Divine Ser- 
vice on Sunday, the 24th of January, 1703, (new style). 
Rev. John Talbot preached the sermon. From Rev. 
George Keith's Journal, Mr. Johnson notes that Mr. 
Keith that day took Mr. Evans's place at Christ Church, 
Philadelphia, while Mr. Evans went down to encourage 
the new work at Chester. Mr. Keith preached in Ches- 
ter twice in the same year. 

In 1704 Rev. Henry Nichols, the missionary at Ches- 
ter, reported that the people were well disposed to the 
Church of England. In 1718 Rev. John Humphreys, 
then missionary, could not obtain a house to reside in, 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 9 1 

and bought a thousand acres of land about three miles 
distant. In 1717 Samuel Hesselius, (a Swede,) was in 
charge. In 1752 Rev. Thomas Thompson held the mis- 
sion. In 1835 the old church was repaired. Fifteen 
years after it was torn down, and the stones used in the 
basement of the new church. The old building should 
have been preserved as a relic of old time, and a 
reminder of the simple worship of the fathers. T. U. 
Walter, of Philadelphia, was the architect of the new 
stone church, which was on the opposite side of Third 
street from the old one. The corner stone was laid in 
1850. The building is of Gothic architecture. 

Robert French, a Scotchman, who married Mary, the 
daughter of James Sandilands, was buried in St. Paul's 
Church. He was a prominent man in what is now 
Delaware, "and one of the founders of Immanuel 
Church, at New Castle." His son David was a poet of 
merit, and Attorney-General of the Lower Counties. 
He was buried with his father, it is supposed, in the 
chancel of the old church. 

The new church was opened on Sunday, May 4th, 
A. D. 1851. The Rev. Dr. Balch officiated. In 1872 
and 1873 ten months were employed in altering and en- 
larging the church. On Sunday, April 13, 1873, ser- 
vices were resumed, and the rector, Rev. Henry Brown, 
preached a historical sermon. Mr. Johnson copies a 
list of rectors from John Hill Martin's History of 
Chester. Several have been spoken of, and notes of 
the missionaries may be found in Bishop Perry's His- 
torical Collections of Pennsylvania, a quarto volume at 
the Philadelphia Library, and also at the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania's Library. Rev. Dr. Ha»vks 
visited England to copy the reports of the missionaries, 
etc., and the result given in this volume is very valu- 



92 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

ab'e. In 1756 the Swedish minister at Wilmington, 
Rev. Israel Acrelius was in charge of Chester. He 
wrote a valuable book entitled: "A History of New 
Sweden." New Sweden was the name of the Swedish 
possessions on the Delaware, in Pennsylvania, New Jer- 
sey and Delaware. Dr. Collin translated a part of this 
book from the Swedish language, and Rev. Dr. Charles 
M. Reynolds afterwards translated the whole of it, and 
it was published by the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania. A picture of this gentleman, being an oil paint- 
ing may be seen in the vestry room of Trinity Chapel, 
Wilmington. His connection with Chester, was prob- 
ably temporary, as in 1758, Rev. Geo. Craig is in charge, 
and no date is marked for the close of Mr. Acrelius's 
work. The Swedish clergy aided the English missions 
when English clergy were scarce, as may be seen by 
their reports. The Propagation Society sometimes 
voted remuneration for their assistance, and the rela- 
tions of the clergy of the Swedish and English churches 
were fraternal and close. The Swedish clergy some- 
times ministered at Marcus Hook. 

From 1758 to 1781 Rev. George Craig was in charge 
of St. Paul's parish. He is spoken of in the Protestant 
Episcopal Historical Society Collections, Vol. I, 
also in Dr. Chandler's Life of President Johnson, 
(English edition,) page 186. In Dr. Dorr's History of 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, on pages 124 and 125, I 
find it noted that Mr. Craig, according to some minutes 
in the papers of Bishop White, was at the yearly Con- 
vention of the clergy in Philadelphia, in 1761. He 
preached a sermon before the Convention according to 
an appointment made by the last Convention. The 
sermon was delivered in Christ Church. Hawkins's 
Missions of the Church of England mention this mis- 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAULS. 93 

sionary on pages 315 and 396. He was licensed to New 
Jersey, Sept. 1st, 1750. He is marked "dead" in a list 
of missionaries dated 1770 in the General Convention 
Archives in the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society 
Collections, Vol. I, page ti6. 

Rev. James Conner is marked as rector from 1788 to 
1791. 

From 1 79 1 to 1793 Rev. Joseph Turner was rector. 
He was the father of Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Turner, who 
was long an honored Professor at the General Theo- 
logical Seminary, in New York City. Joseph Turner 
was an assistant at the Swedish church in Philadelphia, 
under Dr. Collin. He often officiated at St. Paul's, and 
is buried in the rear of that church, where I have seen 
his tomb. He was a worthy man. 

Rev. Prof. Hare writes me : "I remember Dr. Turner 
very distinctly and very respectfully. He was the Pro- 
fessor of Biblical Learning in the General Theological 
Seminary, during the time I was there as a student, about 
1827 to 1829, and he occupied this important place long 
before as well as after those years. He had studied Di- 
vinity under Bishop White, I believe. He was friendly, 
affable, devout and much interested for his pupils ; a 
capable instructor, a thoughtful preacher,, a divine 
worthy of the name." I also gladly honor him. 

From 1793 to 1798 Pvev. Levi Heath held the rector- 
ship. 

From 1S03 to 1805 Rev. Joshua Reece is named as 
rector. 

From 1 815 to 18 18 Rev. William Pryce was rector. 

He was rector of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes'), Wilming- 
ton, and is buried near the door of the old church. 

From i8i8to 1822 Rev. Jacob Morgan Douglass was 
in the rectorship, 



94 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

REV. JACOB MORGAN DOUGLASS. 

Rev. Benjamin J. Douglass has prepared a manuscript 
life of his r ather at my request, and I gather some points 
from it. 

Mr. Douglass was connected with the Diocese of Penn- 
sylvania over fifty years. Andrew and Rachel Doug- 
lass were his parents, and Philadelphia was the place of 
his birth in 1794. His father and his maternal grandfather 
Col. Jacob Morgan were sugar refiners. The Colonel, 
was a Revolutionary officer. His father, bearing the 
same name and title, gave name to Morgantown, Berks 
County, Pa., where he resided. 

Jacob Morgan Douglass was sent to school at the 
Lower Dublin Academy, at Collegeville, near Holmes- 
burgh, and not far from Bustleton. He was in Prince- 
ton College, graduating with high honors. He entered 
John Sergeant's law office. Christ called him to a high 
religious life, and Bishop White confirmed him on Eas- 
ter Eve, 1812. Ini8i5he w r as admitted to the bar, but 
in the same month became a candidate for Holy Orders. 
The saintly Bishop White guided his theological stud- 
ies, and ordained him Deacon in St. Paul's Church, 
Philadelphia. Plis first sermon was preached in Christ 
Church, from St. Luke 8:4. In the evening, with mis- 
sionary zeal he preached in Commissioner's Hall, South- 
ward The Rev. Messrs. Kemper, Boyd, Montgomery 
and others were zealous missionaries in church work in 
Philadelphia in those days. The Advancement Society 
entered on its noble work. Mr. Douglass labored with 
success under this Society as a missionary, making 
Pittsburgh the centre of his field. Trinity Church, 
Pittsburgh, had been organized, and there were four 
churches near Brownsville, so that the Rev. Messrs. 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 95 

Ayres, Doddridge and Taylor had had some effect on 
the community. Mr. Douglass went through Ohio, 
Kentucky and Tennessee. 

At Pittsburgh the faithful missionary induced the 
people to repair the church, and to agree to pay a salary 
for the support of a clergyman, and to seek for a new 
rector. 

In 1818 Mr. Douglass was in charge of Chester, Mar- 
cus Hook and Concord. He was also rector of Swedes- 
boro, N. J. In 1824 he returned to Concord, Pa., and 
in 1829 became assistant to Dr. Bedell at St. An- 
drew's, Philadelphia. From 1831 to 1834 he was rector 
of St. Thomas's African Church in that city. The work 
in the country churches was blessed with success, and 
the church edifice at Chester was repaired. The people 
were strongly attached to their faithful rector. As to 
the colored work, Mr. Douglass ever proved "the friend 
of the colored man." 

About 1 S3 6 he undertook a severe task in the resus- 
citation of St. Matthew's parish, Francisville. The vil- 
lage was then outside of the city. 

Rev. Norman Nash was rector in 1822. He was a 
devoted man and became a missionary in Wisconsin. 
Rev. Prof. Hare writes me that he remembers him "as a 
man of much zeal." 

Rev. Jacob Morgan Douglass died on the 10th of 
May, 1876. In later life when he was not able to per- 
form service, he attended the Church of the Mediator. 
Rev. Dr. Samuel Appleton ministered faithfully to him 
in his last illness, and from that church, where he loved 
to worship, he was borne to his grave in the church 
yard at Bristol, where he waits a joyful resurrection. 
He was laborious, and sacrificed himself, and God gave 
him success. The will of God was the law of this 



96 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

devoted and humble servant of Christ. He preached 
Christ crucified, and thought little of human sufficiency. 
His pastoral visits gave him a close knowledge of the 
character and spiritual needs of his people. He sought 
the opportunity of sanctifying his visits by prayer, and 
did not forget to inculcate the duty of family prayer in 
this world of daily temptation to sin. His private ap- 
plications enforced his public preaching, and he looked 
for the blessing of God on both, and received it. He 
was not idle, waiting for a parish, but sought work- 
where little remuneration was offered, but work was 
needed. The son closes the merited eulogy of a worthy 
father with an appeal to young men to come to the 
front where the fight rages the strongest, as his living 
example points the way. Such lives he pleads should 
stir laymen and clergy to noble action in the Church of 
Christ. This certainly should be the effect of all relig- 
ious biography ; we should not merely admire, but also 
imitate. Zion Church, in Phila-delphia, was founded by 
the efforts of Mr. Douglass. 

Rev. Richard Umstead Morgan held St. Paul's parish 
from 1822 to 1831. He was rector of Reading and of 
Pequea, in Pennsylvania, and of New Rochelle, in New 
York. He was an able minister. 

THE REV. RICHARD UMSTEAD MORGAN, D. D., 

was born at Evansburg, Montgomery County, Pennsyl- 
vania, January 9th, 1800. He was a descendant of General 
Daniel Morgan, of the Army of the Revolution. In 
1822, he was ordained a deacon by Bishop White, in 
St. Peters Church, Philadelphia, and priest by the same 
bishop in 1823. After twelve years' service as rector of 
parishes in Delaware, Chester and Lancaster Counties, 
he was called to the rectorate of Christ Church, Read- 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAULS. 97 

ing, in 1834. The title of D. D. was given him in 1845 

by Dickinson College. He remained in charge of the 
Reading parish 15 years and seven months, and May 1st, 
1850, was transferred to the Diocese of New York, and 
instituted rector of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, 
which parish he faithfully served for twenty-three years. 
In 1875, after fifty years spent in the service of his 
Master, he was retired at his own request, with the title 
of Rector Emeritus, and spent his declining years in the 
family of his wife's relatives (nieces of the late Bishop 
Jarvis)at Stamford, Connecticut, where he died October 
9th, 1882, in the 83d year of his age. His remains rest 
in the burial ground of his former parish at New Ro- 
chelle, by the side of his first wife, Sarah Markley, a 
native of Norristown, Pennsvlvania. 

This sketch is contributed by J. K. Getz. 

From 183 1 to 1835 Rev. John Baker Clemson, D. D., 
was rector. He is a native of Pennsylvania. By the 
early death of his father, who was a Philadelphia mer- 
chant, he was obliged to guide his own way in life and 
became a student of Princeton College. He also studied 
at the Theological Seminary near Alexandria, Virginia, 
and was ordained by Bishop White. He was the first 
rector of Harrisburg, Pa., and was rector of Williams- 
port, Pa., and of Ascension Church, Philadelphia, and of 
St. John's, Pequea, Pa., and Ascension Church, Clay- 
mont, Delaware, and St. Martin's, Marcus Hook, Pa., 
and St. John's, Concord, Pa., and served Holy Inno- 
cents, Tacony, Philadelphia, for a time. He held the 
rectorship of West Chester for several years. He has 
been noted as a teacher of boys and voung men. In 
early life he conducted a manual labor school near Wil- 
mington, on Penny Hill, where young men were trained 
for the ministry. Rev. Dr. Richard Newton was a pupil. 



98 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

I believe that Bristol College grew out of this effort. 
Rev. Dr. Tyng was once interested in these schools. 
Dr. Clemson is a fine reader of the service, a polished 
writer and a good preacher. He now resides in West 
Chester, Pa. 

From 1835 to 1837 Rev. Richard D. Hall was the 
rector of Chester. See " Bristol, " in this volume, for a 
sketch of his life. 

From 1837 to 1841 Rev. Mortimer Richmond Talbot 
was rector, and again held the post from 1859 to 1861. 
He was a pleasant and affable man. In his latter life he 
was a chaplain in the Navy, and was in 1848 and 1861 
stationed at the Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia. His 
naval record shows that in 1S52 he was at the Naval 
Hospital in Norfolk, Va., and gives the dates.ofhis various 
sojourns on vessels. He was born in New York, resided 
in Pennsylvania, and died in Philadelphia, in 1863. In 
1842 and 1843 Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely was in 
charge of the parish. He was a man of remarkable 
brightness, and a natural orator. He was a student in 
the law office of Henry Clay before he gave himself to 
the ministry of Christ's Holy Church. He once held 
the rectorship of Hulmeville, Pa., and when he owned 
a farm at Claymont, Delaware, he used to officiate at the 
Union Meeting House not far distant, for Calvary 
parish. 

From 1844 to 1848 Rev. Anson B. Hard was associate 
rector of St. Paul's. He was from Vermont, and was 
rector of Marcus Hook. He was a saintly man, but in 
his later life an affection of the throat impaired his voice, 
and forbade his using it to continue the public exercise 
of his ministry. So the working servant of Christ was 
transformed into the waiting servant until the summons 
came to enter the joy of the Master, where bodily 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 99 

infirmity would disappear. It is not needful to remind 
the parishioners of St. Paul's how nobly his daughter, 
Miss Laura Hard, has continued her father's labors in 
the large Bible Class which has for years received the 
benefit of her instructions in the Word of God, that they 
may be advanced in the Christian life. 

Anson Bois Hard was born in Arlington, Vermont, 
Nov. 15th, 1 801; and died in Chester, Pa., May 31st. 1880, 
where he lies buried in the Chester Rural Cemetery. 

He graduated at Middlebury College, Vermont, in 
1825, and from there went to the Theological Seminary 
in Alexandria, Va., and was confirmed there by Bishop 
Moore in 1829. 

His first parishes were Fairfax and Sheldon, Vermont, 
from which he went to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and from 
there to his native place, Arlington, Vermont, in each 
of which he remained five years In 1844 he came to 
Chester, and in 1849 was disabled from preaching by a 
partial paralysis of the vocal organs, the remote cause 
of which was an injury" received a few years previously 
by being thrown and gored by a wild bull. He was 
married in 1829, immediately after his ordination, to 
Esther Yarnall Warner, a daughter of Capt. John War- 
ner, of Wilmington, Delaware, who was at the time 
acting as United States Consul at Havana, being engaged 
in the West India trade. 

From 1849 to l8 5o Rev. Charles W. Quick was rector. 

From 1850 to 1853 the parish was in the hands of 
Rev. Dr. Lewis P. W. Balch. He was a man who stood 
high in the Church as Secretary of the House of Bish- 
ops. His elocution in reading and speaking was remark- 
ably fine, and his manner was very striking. He was 
for some time the rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, 
New York City, when it stood on Great Jones Street, 
before it was moved uptown; 



TOO CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

From 1853 to 1855 Rev. Nathaniel Sayre Harris was 
the rector of this parish. He was the son of Nathan- 
iel and Catharine Harris. He was born in the vicinity 
of Trenton, N. J., Sept. 29th, 1805. He graduated at 
West Point Military Academy, and held various offices 
in the army until his resignation in 1835. On a visit to 
Philadelphia the sainted Dr. Bedell impressed him with 
a devout Christian sermon, and the Holy Spirit drew 
him into the service of God, which engaged him until 
his death, fifty-seven years afterwards. He studied for a 
time in the General Theological Seminary, in New York, 
closing as a pupil of the godly Rev. Dr. John A. Clark, 
rector of St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia, where he 
acted as lay reader. In 1837 Bishop Onderdonk or- 
dained him a deacon, and in 183811c ordained him a 
priest. He began his faithful work at the Church of 
the Evangelists, in Southwark, Philadelphia. The over- 
flowing church, and large Sunday-school, and an in- 
creasing number of communicants indicating the bless- 
ing of God. He became rector of Ascension Church, 
Philadelphia, and afterwards secretary and general 
agent for the church's domestic missions. He had a 
martial appearance, and Dr. Tyng once styled him " an 
embalmed soldier." In latter years the military appear- 
ance partially disappeared. He labored and itinerated 
in his pleadings for missions three or four years, but in 
1845 took the young Church of the Nativity, in Phila- 
delphia, and toiled to advance it, but in 1852 went to 
St. Paul's, Chester. In three years he went to Balti- 
more, and thence moving to Hoboken, N. J., he passed 
there the last fourteen years of his active ministerial 
labor. He was rector of Trinity nearly ten years. He 
took it as a young parish, with an unfinished church, 
but left it flourishing and out of debt. In 1866 he 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. IOI 

accepted St. Paul's Church, and remained there until 
1 87 1. The loss of a dear son to whom he ministered in 
Europe, whither he had gone for health, saddened his 
life. Still he was benevolent and unselfish, patient and 
gentle as in early days, glorifying Christ by his acts. 
His sermons were able presentations of Gospel truth, 
"and Christ crucified" was his great theme. He was a 
faithful shepherd in parish work, and was loved by the 
poor and weary whom he consoled. Mr. Harris's first 
wife was the daughter of John Andrews, of Philadel- 
phia, who was the son of Rev. Dr. John Andrews, Pro- 
vost of the University of Pennsylvania. His second wife 
was the daughter of James A. Stevens, of Hoboken. Capt. 
Edwin S. Harris, his son, was lost in the War of the 
Rebellion. After over a year's illness, this clergyman 
"fell asleep in Jesus," at the rectory of his son, Rev. 
John Andrews Harris, D.D.,in Chestnut Hill, Philadel- 
phia, April 2 2d, 1S66. He left a widow, two sons and 
a daughter, while former parishioners share their loss. 

From 1855 to 1 S59 Rev. Daniel Kendig was the rec- 
tor. He also conducted a school for a time, and a build- 
ing was erected for school purposes near the present 
rectory. Mr. Kendig has been in the West for many 
years. He is now a chaplain in the United States Army, 
stationed at San Francisco. 

He was born at Middletown, Dauphin County, Pa., 
November 10th, 1824 ; was graduated from the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania; was ordained deacon and priest 
by Bishop Alonzo Potter; and was rector of St. Paul's, 
Chester, Pa., and of the Church of the Advent, Oak- 
land, California, 

From 1 86 1 to 1863 Rev. J. Pinkney Hammond was the 
rector of St. Paul's. He was also chaplain of theArmy 
Hospital near Chester. He was rector of St. Michael's 



102 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

Church, Germantown, and was settled in church work 
in Maryland. He died not long since. He was a large 
man of commanding presence, and a person of decided 
church views, which he was very earnest in maintaining, 
and was a patient and conscientious toiler in the Lord's 
Vineyard. Miss M. H. Whittingham kindly furnishes 
me the following notes concerning him. She is a daugh- 
ter of Bishop Whittingham, and is the Librarian of the 
Diocesan Library of Maryland. 

Jonathan Pinkney Hammond, D. D., (St. John's) born 
in Annapolis, Maryland, May 20th, 1826 ; graduate of 
St. John's College, Annapolis, 1845 ; graduate of Vir- 
ginia Theological Seminary, 1847 ; ordained deacon by 
Bishop Meade, July 15th, 1847; went from Virginia to 
Rhode Island, thence to Maine, 1847 ; took charge of a 
church at Bangor, Maine ; became minister of Trinity 
Church, Saco, Maine; came into the Diocese of Mary- 
land, 1849 ; took charge of Trinity Church, Upper Marl- 
boro', Prince George Co., August 1st, 1849; ordained 
priest by Bishop Whittingham, in Trinity Church, Up- 
per Marlboro', on presentation by the Rev. Dr. Pinkney 
in 1850 ; left for the Diocese of New York, April 19th, 
1852, and became rector of St. Ann's Church, Morris- 
ania, New York ; entered the U. S. service as chaplain 
and was transferred from Pennsylvania to Maryland in 
1862 ; was chaplain of the Hospital at Annapolis, and 
took temporary charge of St. Anne's Church, Annap- 
olis, March 1st, 1865, elected rector, May 5th, 1865 ; was 
transferred to the Diocese of Pennsylvania, 1869, and 
settled first in Philadelphia, then in Reading, thence to 
Omaha, Nebraska ; returned to Maryland, as rector of 
King and Queen Parish, St. Mary's Co., in 1875; went 
to St. Mary's Church, Franklin, Baltimore Co., 1877 ; 
became missionary in St. George's Mission Chapel, 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 103 

Baltimore City, 1878-9. While such, built St. George's 
Church, memorial to Bishop Whittingham, and died as 
its rector, August 9th, 1884, aged 58 years. He left a 
widow and several grown children, still residing in Bal- 
timore. 

He compiled a prayer book, or rather a Manual of 
Prayers, for the use of army chaplains. 

It was a good day for this parish, when in 1863 the 
Rev. Henry Brown became its rector. He has faithfully 
and successfully toiled in it from that day to this one, 
and it is rare to find so extended a rectorate. 

Rev. Henry Brown was born in Philadelphia, and 
brought up in St. John's Church, Northern Liberties, 
under the Rev. Dr. Boyd, and said the catechism to him 
from memory when six years old, and commenced 
theological studies under him. 

He studied at the Academical Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed head 
master of an Academy on the Eastern shore of Mary- 
land. He studied there with the' Rev. Dr. Piggot, 
boarding in his family, having the use of his large and 
well-selected library. 

He was ordained deacon by Bishop Onderdonk in 
1839, in Grace Church, Philadelphia. Rev. Mr. Hallo- 
well, was ordained deacon at the same time. He was 
ordained priest by Bishop Whittingham, in 1841, at 
Centreville. He preached his first sermon on the after- 
noon of his ordination in St. John's Church, where he 
had been brought up, and where he was confirmed by 
Bishop Onderdonk, at the age of sixteen. 

His first parish was St. Mark's, Lewistown, Pa., and 
his second one, St. Paul's, Centreville, Maryland, where 
he remained ten years and six months. 

He then became rector of St. David's, Radnor, where 
he remained four and a half years. 



Io4 CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUL'S. 

While rector of St. David's, he started a service orl 
Sunday afternoons in a hall on the Lancaster turnpike, 
six miles from Radnor, which from the first became, by 
God's blessing, a great success. In two years a stone 
church with tower, &c, was built, and paid for, and the 
building was soon filled; and the outcome of this new 
parish under the labor of successive rectors, and in- 
crease of a wealthy and intelligent population coming 
to the neighborhood, is the strong and active congrega- 
tion of the Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr. 

From Radnor Mr. Brown removed to Beverly, N. J., 
and was rector of St. Stephen's Church seven years 
and six months. Within a year after removing to 
Beverly, he received a pressing call to return to the 
Church of the Redeemer, which he declined, as there 
was much to encourage him in his new parish. 

From Beverly he came to his present parish, and is 
now in the twenty-eighth year as rector of St. Paul's 
Church. 

This parish from 75 communicants, now numbers 400. 
The rector has never had an assistant, and seldom avails 
himself of the services of a lay-reader. Fie never misses 
going into his Sunday-School on each Lord's day, to 
catechise and talk to school and Bible classes, which 
number over 500 in attendance. His health is good, 
and God has been very gracious to him during his long 
ministry in his church; and he may truly say in view of 
His loving help: "Our labor is not in vain in the Lord." 
He is much beloved by his flock for his long and faith- 
ful care.* 

John Morton who signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, is buried in St. Paul's ground. When the 
Continental Army was at Fort Washington, Mr. Johnson 

* See Radnor in this volume for further notice of his work. 



CHESTER (PA.) ST. PAUl/S. 105 

notes after a prayer by Rev. Dr. Magaw, the Declara- 
tion was read to the soldiers, and a doubtful silence 
followed, as the idea was by no means universally popu- 
lar at that time, but the gifted General Thomas Mifflin, 
mounting a cannon, loudly declared that the Rubicon 
had been crossed, and demanded three cheers for the 
document, and with electric effect the cheers came. 

st. luke's. 

Mr. Johnson's history gives a sketch of this parish 
which I condense. This Gothic granite stone church 
is at the corner of Third and Broomall streets, and was 
built in A. D. i860. The corner-stone was laid on 
February 1st. Bishop Stevens officiated, assisted by 
Rev. Henry Brown, and some other clergymen. Ser- 
vices were held in the church in 1870. Thomas R. List, 
a student in the Philadelphia Divinity School, was lay- 
reader untili873, and then rector. "The Church was due 
largely to the efforts of John Burrows McKeever, Wm. 
Ward, Samuel Archbold, Samuel Eccles, Jr., Wm. H. 
Green, Wm. A. Todd, Major Joseph R. Coates, and their 
wives and other ladies of St. Paul's Church, the South 
Ward, and South Chester. Edward A. Price and wife 
presented the parish with a handsome Communion Ser- 
vice — silver tankard, paten, chalices, and plates for alms, 
while F. Stanhope Hill and Mrs. Hannah Depue gave 
the pulpit Bible." John Burrows McKeever, a zealous 
friend of the young parish died in 1874, and by the efforts 
of the Rev. Mr. List a font was procured for the church 
in commemoration of him. In 1875 Mr. List became 
rector of the Church of the Redemption, Philadelphia, 
which post he yet holds, having done good and loyal 
service to the Church in both positions. In October of 
the same year Rev. George Clifford Moore assumed the 



Jq6 COLUMBIA (C.) ST. PAULAS. 

rectorship of St. Luke's Church. He advocated abol- 
ishing pew-rents, and the introducing the envelope 
system of voluntary contributions. In 1876 a legacy 
from Charles Kenworthy was used to partially pay ,4 a 
mortgage debt," and the next year a legacy of Elizabeth 
Kerlin was employed in "like manner," and in 1880 the 
whole debt was paid. The parish has flourished under 
the constant faithful work of the present rector, and with 
the growth of the population of the city it may advance 
more rapidly. 

CHUKCHTOWK (c.) BANGOR CHURCH. 
BY REV. SAMUEL McELWEE. 

Succession of rectors : Rev. Griffith Hughes, 173c- 
1733; Rev. Roger Blackall, 1 733-1 739; Rev. Richard 
Lock, 1739-1751 ; Rev. George Craig, 1751-1759: Rev. 
Thomas Barton, 1 759—1 774; Rev. Traugod Frederick 
Illing, 1782-1792 ; Rev. Levi Heath, 1793-1799; Rev. 
Joseph Clarkson, 1 799-1819 ; Rev. Levi Bull, 1819-1844 ; 
Rev. William J. Clark, 1844-1847; Rev. William L. 
Suddards, 1847; Rev. S.T. Carpenter, 1848; in temp- 
orary charge. Rev. Edward Meyer, 1849-1854 ; Rev. 
Edward L. Lycett, 1S54-1S56 ; Rev. Henry M. Stuart, 
1857-1859; Rev. Francis E. Arnold, 1860-1864 ; Rev. 
William R. Gries, 1865-1867; Rev. Henry R. Smith, 
1869-1871; Rev. John Ireland, 1873-1876 ; Rev. Samuel 
McElwee, 1876 to present time : October, 1890, 

COLUMBIA (C.), ST. PAULAS. 
BY GEORGE H. RICHARDS. 

Atirregular intervals during theyears 1S37, 1838, 1839 
and 1840, the services of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
were held at Columbia. An effort was made at that 




ST. PAUL S, COLUMBIA. 



COLUMBIA (C.) ST. PAUL'S. IOJ 

time to raise sufficient money for the erection of a 
church building, but the amount raised, S6oo, fell so far 
short, that the church people must have been very much 
discouraged. For, no effort seems to have been made to 
hold services here again until in 1848. In August of 
that year, Bishop Potter accompanied by Rev. Samuel 
Bowman, then rector of St. James's, Lancaster, visited 
the church families residing at Columbia and Marietta. 
Soon after Rev. D wight E. Lyman, a Professor in St. 
James College, near Hagerstown, Maryland, offered his 
services as a missionary at these two points. On 
Sunday evening, August 13, 1848, he held his first 
service in Columbia, in the Presbyterian Church, which 
had very kindly been offered for that purpose. 

Mr. Lyman soon hired a house and had it suitably 
fitted up for divine service, and having appointed a 
vestry, he commenced the regular services weekly, one 
service being held in Columbia and one in Marietta 
each Sunday. The name St. Paul was adopted and a 
charter was obtained, and passed through the Convention. 
A lot was purchased, and from funds contributed by 
members of the parish and friends in Philadelphia, 
Harrisburg, Lancaster and other places, a very attract- 
ive stone church was built after the earlv English style, 
having a seating capacity of about 200. The corner 
stone was laid October 10, 1849, and the church was 
consecrated on May 28, 1850. . 

Mr. Lyman resigned in July 1853, He was efficient 
and active, and much beloved. 

The names of the other ministers in order are as 
follows : Rev. Henry W. Woods, became rector in 
December 1S50 — resigned October 1, 1854; Rev. Dr. 
McLeod, May 1855 — resigned January 1856; Rev. 
Samuel Appleton, from July 1, 1857 to April 1, 186c ; 



IoS COLUMBIA (C.) ST. PAULAS. 

Theodore A. Hopkins, principal of Yeates Institute, 
acted frequently as a supply during the spring and 
summer of i860 ; Rev. John Cromlist took charge 
early in January, 1861, and resigned July 31, 1867 to 
engage in special church missionary work in New York 
City ; Rev. Benj. J. Douglass, from January 1, 1868 to 
June 1, 1870; Rev. George H. Kirkland, from September 
11, 1870 to December 28, 1873. 

By his earnest advocacy, at a meeting of the congrega- 
tion held March 29, 1871, the vestry were instructed to 
declare the church a Free Church, provided sufficient 
funds were subscribed to pay the current expenses. 
The formal declaration was soon after made by the 
vestry. 

The parish has never repented this step. Under the 
pew rent system it was impossible to collect enough to 
pay the current expenses. The voluntary contribution 
plan nearly doubled the annual receipts. 

Rev. Percival A. Beckett, from February 1, 1874 to 
July 11, 1875. 

On May 29, 1875, a call was extended to Rev. Geo. 
H. Kirkland to again become rector of the parish. The 
call was accepted to take effect the first Sunday in 
September following. He resigned July 7, 1879, officia- 
ting for the last time on the first Sunday in the following 
August. 

Rev. Richard C. Searing, from December 7, 1879 to 
Sunday, August 5, 1883. 

Rev. David B. Willson, now deceased, officiated on 
October 23. The memory of Mr. Willson is very dear 
to the members of St. Paul's parish because of the 
timely and efficient help he so cheerfully and frequently 
rendered them when acting as a lay-reader and tempor- 
ary supply. 



COLUMBIA (c.) ST, PAUL'S. 109 

On February 14, 1884, Rev. F. J. Clay-Moran, B. D,, 
of England, took temporary charge of the parish, having 
been engaged to serve until Easter. His labors proved 
so helpful, that upon the earnest solicitation of the 
vestry, he consented to continue his temporary charge 
of the parish, with liberty to terminate it at any time 
upon giving reasonable notice. 

This relation was kept up until April 13, 1890, when 
Mr. Moran left to assume the duties of Archdeacon of 
Annapolis, to which important office he had been 
appointed by Bishop Paret of the Diocese of Maryland. 

This period of over six years was the golden one in 
the history of the parish. Dormant powers were stimula- 
ted, hopes were strengthened, zeal intensified, and Christ- 
ian love broadened and deepened. The marked result of 
this new life was the erection of a large new stone 
church at a new and more central location upon two 
lots generously donated by Mr. H. H. Houston, for- 
merly of Columbia, now residing at Germantown, Pa. 
This building so beautiful without and within, with seats 
for 400 persons, was dedicated Thursday, September 29, 
' 1887, and on January 25, 1888, the feast of the Conver- 
sion of St. Paul, it was consecrated, Rt. Rev. M. A. 
De Wolfe Howe, Bishop of the Diocese, officiating, as- 
sisted by Rev. Mr. Moran, the rector, and many visiting 
clergy. 

Services have been kept up since Mr. Moran's depart- 
ure by the help of Rev. Montgomery R. Hooper, the 
principal of Yeates Institute, Lancaster, Pa., and 
others. 

On October 14, 1890, a call was extended to Rev. D. 
Stuart Hamilton, assistant at Christ Church, Williams- 
port, Pa. The call was accepted on October 23d, to 
take effect on Advent Sunday. 



no concord (pa.) st. johx's. 

The parish is free of debt. It needs very much a 
parish building and a rectory. Before the end of an- 
other year the work of erecting the parish building may 
be begun.. 

The parish is well organized. There is a good Sunday- 
school, a Woman's Guild, a chapter of the Brotherhood 
of St. Andrew, and a chapter of the Sisterhood of St. 
Andrew. 

The wardens and vestry take a deep interest in their 
work, being all regular communicants. Harmony is 
the watchword. Success cannot help but be the result. 

The following named persons constitute the wardens 
and vestry at this time. 

Hon. H. M. North, Rector's Warden ; S. S. Detwiler, 
Accounting Warden ; George H. Richards, Secretary: 
Andrew J. Kauffman, Esq., James Bloomfield, f. Edward 
Schall. 

CONCORD (PA.) ST. JOHN^S. 

BY REV R. L. STEVENS. 

Traditions of this neighborhood carry the organization 
of this church back to 1650. It was made up of 
members of the churches of Sweden and England who 
in 1702 erected a log church on a lot deeded to 
them by John Hannum. This church has been rebuilt 
several times; the last time being in 1844, when the pres- 
ent stone structure w T as erected on a new lot adjoining 
the old lot. In 1707-8 a Communion Service was pre- 
sented by Queen Anne, and this is still in the possession 
of the Church. The gravestones in the original lot 
date back as far as 1720, while the first records of the 
parish begin in 1727. 

Among the rectors the Rev. Evan Evans heads the 
list; but the graves of the Rev. Richard and Mary Saun- 



DOVLESXOWN (PA.) ST. PAUi/S. Ill 

derltmds are represented at the church door. As the 
name of Richard Saunderlands does not appear after 
Evan Evans, it may be presumed that he ministered here 
before the others. The full list of rectors to the present 
time is as follows : 

Rev. Evan Evans. Henry Nichols, George Ross, John 
Humphreys, John Backhouse, Thomas Thompson, 
George Craig, John Wade, James Connor, James Turner, 
Levi Heath, Joshua Reece, M. Chandler, William Pryce, 
Jacob M. Douglass, Samuel C. Brinckle, Jacob M. Dou- 
glass, George Kirke, John B. Clemson, D. D., M. D. 
Hirst, E. Wilson Wiltbank, (Bishop) Alfred Lee, Samuel 
C. Stratton, Benj. S. Huntington, R. B. Claxton, W. H. 
Trapnell, Chas. Breck, John K, Murphy, D. D., Richard- 
son Graham, John B. Clemson, M. Christian, J. J. Creigh, 
Joshua Copeland, H. Baldwin Dean, Joseph J. Sleeper, 
Fletcher Clark and Robert L. Stevens, the present 
rector. 

The author adds that Dr. Evan Evans was rector of 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, and a great missionary, 
founding country parishes. A sketch of him is given 
in Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware. 

Rev. Robert Livingston Stevens did faithful mission- 
ary work fourteen years in Oregon and Nebraska. He 
was rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Lin- 
coln, Nebraska. He was born in Hoboken, N. J., grad- 
uated at Princeton College and the General Theological 
Seminary, ordained deacon by Bishop Scarborough, in 
Princeton and priest by Bishop Morris, in Portland. 

DOYLESTOWN (PA.) ST. PAULS. 

A copy of General Davis's Doylestoion Democrat, dated 
April 13th, 1880, contains a historical sermon by Y\ 
Hummel Berghaus, \\\ two parts, from which we cull 



TI2 DOYLESTOWN (PA.) ST. PAULS. 

information. In 1845 Rev. George P. Hopkins began 
the effort which resulted in the establishing of the church, 
though previous efforts had been made. Mr. Hopkins 
lived in Germantown, and officiated occasionally in 
Jenkintown and Chestnut Hill. Thomas Ross, Esq., 
and his family assisted the undertaking in Doylestown. 
Services were commenced in Beneficial Hall, on State 
street, now called Masonic Hall. In 1846, the corner- 
stone of the church was laid by Bishop Potter. Amidst 
some discouragements Mr. Hopkins moved forward with 
hope and determination, and was sustained by the help 
of God. Rev. Joseph S. Large, of Michigan, formerly 
of Bucks County, " Rev. Mr. Wiltberger, missionary at 
Hulmeville, Centreville, Newtown, &c. /'were present at 
the laying of the corner-stone, with the rector. The 
vestryman, Mr. James Gilkyson, was a faithful worker 
in this enterprise. The church was opened in 1848. 
Waiting hearts were joyful even to tears on this occa- 
sion. The building was of stone, and was an ornament 
to the town. In 18150, the blessed consecration was 
celebrated by Bishop Potter. Mr. Hopkins, was then 
living in Doylestown. The future Bishops Stevens and 
Howe, and Rev. Messrs. Shannon, Edwin N. Lightner, 
Wiltberger and Hopkins, and Drs. Beasley and Stem, 
assisted in the service. Dr. Stevens preached a remark- 
able sermon, the church was crowded, and the " music 
beautiful." The Bishop preached in the afternoon, and 
Dr. Stem in the evening, when there was a confirmation. 
Dr. Chas. Treichel, of Germantown, gave the organ. 
He was a brother-in-law of Bishop Hopkins. The 
communion service was the gift of Mrs. Osman Reed, of 
Philadelphia. "The Communion table" was presented 
by Caleb Jones, Esq. Rev. Dr. Rodney, of German- 
town, and several of his parishioners aided the erection 



DOYLESTOWN (PA.) ST. PAUl/s. 113 

of the church. Duval Rodney King and his mother, 
Mrs. Mary King, and others are mentioned by Mr. Hop- 
kins, whose accounts are followed by the preacher. Mr. 
Hopkins resigned in 1853, having done noble work. He 
now resides at Stevensville, Pa., -and is rector of St. 
Matthew's Church, Pike. 

He left the parish for Lewistown, Pa., with the loving 
good wishes of parishioners. For some time he held 
Trinity Church, Centreville, with Doylestown. In 1854, 
Rev. Rees C. Evans was elected rector. William Stavely 
was authorized to extend this call, and Centreville and 
Doylestown were joined under one rector. In 1855, 
Mr. Evans resigned ; and Rev. William R. Gries became 
rector. He had studied medicine, and was a mission- 
ary in North Carolina. He was ardent in temperament, 
zealous and of simplicity in character, and a preacher of 
ability, a faithful pastor, and a toilsome minister. The 
church improved spiritually, and in numbers, during his 
rectorship. The new organ w T as bought in his day, and 
the basement of the church fitted up. The bell was also 
procured. Being of German descent, the rector was 
useful among the Germans. He resigned in" 1861. He 
is remembered with affection as a faithful servant of 
Christ. He became a chaplain in the army in the war 
against the Southern Confederacy, in the regiment of 
Colonel, (now General) Davis. He was very useful as 
a clergyman and as a faithful counsellor and friend to the 
men under his charge. In sickness or battle he was at 
his post, and is remembered as one who did his duty. 
His colonel testifies to his excellent character and great 
usefulness. His religious services were numerous. He 
also had hospital services and daily services among the 
soldiers when he was the sole chaplain on duty in the 
brigade. Many soldiers were baptized by him. Ten 



114 DOYLESTOWN (I'A.j ST. PAUL >.. 

years after leaving this church he revisited his flock and 
preached earnestly on the importance of not delaying 
action in religious life. Mr. Gries gave up his earthly 
work at his Lord's command at Allentown, Pa., October 
21st, 1S73. Being dead he yet speaks words of loving 
warning to his old parishioners to seek salvation in 
Christ. 

Rev. John Tetlow was rector from 1S62 to 1864. Rev. 
Byron McGann was called in 1864. He worked with 
zeal and success. His life was blameless. His flock 
loved him, and he had the respect of the community. 
His manner was dignified. The rectory was bought in 
this rectorship. Mr. McGann resigned in 1868, and the 
congregation regretted their loss. He became rector of 
Bellefonte, Pa., and later of Pottstown, Pa., where he 
died on the nth of March, 1877. Bishop Stevens de 
scribed his character as pure and lovely, and styled him, 
"an earnest and faithful preacher of the Gospel, and a 
wise and prudent pastor of Christ's flock." I remember 
his appearance and manner as suited to the ideal of a 
minister of Christ. 

In t863«Rcv. Hurley Baldy became rector. The church 
was enlarged in his rectorship, and the parish was sep- 
arated from Centreville. He resigned in 1873. 

The vestry received the resignation with regret. The 
parish and community appreciated the good work done 
by the retiring rector. Mr. Baldy now lives in Phila- 
delphia. 

Dr. S. N. Bu'rrill placed granite steps and stone pave- 
ment at the church entrance, and fenced the grounds 
and planted shrubbery at his own expense in 1873. 

From 1874 to 1875 Rev. Thomas K. Coleman was 
rector. He was learned and eloquent. In 1875 Rev. 
Mr. Berghaus was called to the rectorship. The words 



DRtFTON (c.) ST. JAMESJS — ECKLEY (C.) ST. JAMEs's. I 15 

of earnest exhortation with which this rector closes his 
sermon urging an advance in spiritual life, and in effort 
for church progress, show the spirit of that pleasant rec- 
torship. 

Rev. Howard T. Widdemer was rector from 1883 to 
1885, and Rev. J. F. Taunt from the close of 1885 to 
January 31st, 1887. 0p 

The present rector is Rev. George Newton Eastman, 
born in Owego, New York, 1851. Moved to Geneva, 
N: Y., 1861, prepared for college in the Geneva Classi- 
cal and Union School, and entered Hobart College, 1869, 
graduated in 1873. Taught in the " East Bloomfield 
Academy," N. Y., and entered General Theological Sem- 
inary in 1876, graduated in 1879, ordained deacon, 
Trinity Sunday, 1879, * n Church of the Transfiguration, 
N. Y., by Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter. Went to Virginia 
City, Nevada, to Rt. Rev. O. AY. Whitaker, in July, and 
worked under him in Virginia City, at St. Paul's Church, 
also having charge of the mission stations, Gold Hill, 
Silver City and Dayton. Advanced to the priesthood 
by Bishop Whitaker, in Lent, 1880. Returned East, 
after Easter, 1885. Novemben885 to June 1887, assistant 
minister, Church of the Ascension, New York, under 
Rev. E. Winchester Donald, D. D. June, first Sunday, 
1887, became rector of St. Paul's Church, Doylestown. 

DRIFTON (C.) ST. JAMES'S, AND ECKLEY (c.) ST. JAMES's. 

The parish of St. James's Church, Eckley, was organ- 
ized March 15, 1856, at a meeting called by the Rev. 
Peter Russell, the pioneer of the Church in the Lehigh 
region. This church was built in 1859, and the Rev. 

Peter Russell was elected rector. The consecration 
took place on February 7, i860, Rt. Rev. Samuel Bow- 
man, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese, officiating. 



n6 drifton (c.) st. james's— ecklev (c.) st. james's. 

In the Summer of 1866 at Drifton, a Sunday-school 
was started in the dining-room of the family hotel, as 
there was no other building in which to hold the school, 
Drifton being in its infancy. A public schoolhouse 
was bu'lt the following Autumn, and the Sunday-school 
was transferred to it. Church services were held almost 
immediately in the same building by the Rev. Peter 
Russell, as a mission of St. James's Church, Eckley. 
The Holy Communion was celebrated for the first time 
at Drifton, in the schoolhouse during the Easter season 
of 1867. 

Rev. Peter Russell resigned in consequence of con- 
tinued ill health March, 1869, and he was succeeded in 
the same month, by the Rev. James Walker. 

In 1872 a chapel was built at Drifton, which was used 
for church services and Sunday-school, until the present 
church was erected. 

Rev. James Walker resigned in 1874, being succeeded 
by Rev. A. H. Boyle in 1875, who was again succeeded 
by Rev. John Ireland, June, 1876. 

St. James's Church, Drifton, was built in 1883, the cor- 
ner stone was laid in September, and on Christmas day 
of the same year, the firstservice was held in the church, 
which was consecrated the following year by the Rt. 
Rev. M. H. De Wolfe Howe, D. D., Bishop of the 
Diocese, on Sunday, November 23rd, 1884. 

Rev. Isaac Peck and Rev. H. C. Brayton, successively 
assisted Rev. John Ireland 1883-84, until in May, 1884, 
Rev. James P. Buxton was elected assistant, having 
charge of St. James's, Drifton. On May 4, 1885, the 
church in Drifton became a separate parish, and Rev. 
John Ireland, in 1886, resigning jurisdiction over it, 
remained rector of St. James's, Eckley, and Rev. James 
P. Buxton was elected rector of St. James's, Drifton. 



DRIFTOX (C.) ST. JAMES'S — ECKLEY (c.) ST. JAMES* S. I T 7 

In 1886, a chapel was built at Freeland, as a mission 
of St. James's, Drifton, in which Sunday-school has been 
held regularly ever since, and occasional church 
services. 

Rev. James P. Buxton resigned June, 1890, and at a 
vestry meeting held at Drifton on Thursday, November 
6, 1890, he was re-elected rector, to take effect Decem- 
ber 1st. On November the 8th, he accepted. 

In June, 1886, seventy-two communicants are recorded 
for. St. James's, Drifton, and in June 1890, the number 
had increased to one hundred and nine. 

The Rev. Peter Russell was born in Douglassville, 
Pa., on St. Paul's day, January 25, 1818. Studied under 
Dr. Morgan, rector of Christ Church, Reading. Was 
ordained deacon by Bishop H. U. Onderdonk, at Christ 
Church, Reading, in 1844, and priest, (with Rev. 
Edmund Leaf), by Bishop Lee, of Delaware, in 1845, 
at the Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 

In 1844 he took charge of his first parish, St. Mark's, 
Mauch Chunk, (when he was the only Episcopal 
clergyman between Easton and Wilkesbarre,) and held 
services at Summit Hill, Mesquehoning and White 
Haven, beside occasional services at other places. In 
1848 he married Sarah Sharpe, of Wilkesbarre, the Rev. 
George Miles officiating. In 1856 he removed to 
Eckley, where two of his former parishioners, Asa 
Foster and Richard Sharpe had opened a colliery, con- 
tinuing services at White Haven and the surrounding 
villages, to which he added Hazleton, which in a few 
years became an independent parish, and the sons of 
Judge Coxe, a large land owner, beginning a colliery, 
called Dritton, he began holding services there. 

His health failing, in 1869, he accepted a call to St. 
James's, Perkiomen. In 1873 he removed to White 



IlS GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (c.) 

Haven, when the failing health of his wife again com- 
pelled him to leave the bleak mountains, and he went 
to Philadelphia, where he took charge of a mission at 
Franklinville, (Christ Church). 

At Easter, 1880, after the death of his wife, he took 
charge of St. Peter's Church, Hazleton, and in August 
of the same year died, at the house of his son-in-law, 
Edward Tattershall, White Haven, of apoplexy, August 
28, 1880, and was buried at Mauch Chunk. 

Rev. Mr. Tohnan sketched Mr. Russell's life briefly 
in a sermon at the 25th anniversary of the consecration 
of St. Mark's Church, Mauch Chunk. 

Let me add that the zeal of Mr. Russell was tempered 
with discretion. He has left a noble record on earth . 
and his name is written in heaven. 

GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (c.) 

The Rev. T. P. Ege has kindly prepared for my use in 
forming this volume an extended narrative of church 
history in this region. I draw from it what is suited to 
my purpose, hoping that all may be printed elsewhere 
in a way to aid the good w r ork at the Church of the 
Prince of Peace, where Christ's peaceful religion is pro- 
claimed near a bloody battle-field of world-wide renown. 
Christ Church parish was in Huntington- township. 
Petersburg and York Springs are the modern names. 
There is an old vestry book of 1760 when Rev. William 
Thompson signs himself " Itinerating Missionary." In 
1753 "an old log building, which stood near the Coulson 
gravestone, or near the centre of the present graveyard," 
was the house of worship of Christ Church, according 
to the record. In this log building the faithful English 
colonists assembled on Sundays, and in 1755, the faithful 
Thomas Barton came to them as a missionary. (For an 



GETTYSBURG,, HUNTINGTON AND YOR%SPRINGS (c.) I 19 

account of him see Lancaster in this volume.) The flock- 
in the wilderness had shown their religious interest by 
meeting together on Sundays when one of them would 
read prayers. Mr. Barton held York, Huntington and 
Carlisle. He determined to visit outlying settlements of 
the English at certain times to administer the Holy 
Communion, and to baptize the children. The congre- 
gation was so large at Huntington that he sometimes 
preached under the trees. At Carlisle some came fifty 
or sixty miles to the service. 

In 1760 Rev. William Thompson succeeded Mr. Bar- 
ton as the missionary of the noble Society for the Pro- 
pagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts which sent clergy 
from England to this distant land. In his rectorship 
there is reference to a glebe and a house. A stack of 
chimneys was needed, and a well, and the finishing of 
the house w r as needful ; so the vestry assessed the mem- 
bers for the cost, and appointed a Committee of Super- 
vision. This was the home of the early missionary, and 
was doubtless the scene of many a thoughtful cogitation 
and earnest prayer, when Indian warfare and the shad- 
ows of the Revolutionary struggle darkened his way. 
The ancient log church was on the glebe. One portion 
of this glebe is supposed "to have been set apart by Penn, 
or his heirs, for the support of public worship ; the 
other was surveyed, and taken up under proprietary 
warrant, and patented after the Revolution, so as to make 
the title entirely indisputable." The two tracts made 
160 acres, beautifully located, well-watered and wooded, ■ 
and at this clay desirable to look upon, sloping North and 
South on either side of the old highway, which runs 
through its centre, on the crest of a gently elevated 
ridge. About half of the stack of chimneys alone marks 
the site of the old glebe house. 



I20 GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (c.) 

In 1763, the vestry resolved "to build a new church of 
square logs on the site of the old one." In 1770 there 
was five hundred dollars for the poor in funds in the 
warden's hands. Rev. Dr. John Andrews was then rec- 
tor. For an account of him see York in this volume. 
The Rev. Daniel Batwell was rector in 1774 and 1776 as 
records show. His life is also given in the history of 
York parish in this volume. Bishop Howe has a chair 
which once belonged to this "accomplished scholar and 
good man," as a historian describes him. 

In 1784, Rev. John Campbell, D. D., became "pastor" 
of the Huntington parish. He continued in charge 
until 1804, and "appears to have been very active and 
earnest in all the interests of the parish during the im- 
portant and formative period of the American church." 
He moved to Carlisle, where he died in 1819. From 1798 
to 1810 Rev. John Armstrong occasionally officiated. In 
1811 and 1812 Rev. John Reynolds, "formerly of Mary- 
land, preached at Christ Church," and in houses. In 
1818 Rev. J. V. E. Thorn was rector. In 1820 Rev. 
George Woodruff, a young clergyman from New Jersey, 
"officiated about a year, dying the latter part of the 
year at Carlisle," where he was buried. 

From 1823 to 1825 Rev. Charles Williams held the 
rectorship. He was called to the Presidency of Balti- 
more College. " His wife was a niece of LordThurlow, 
the great English jurist." 

In 1826 Rev. Richard D. Hall was elected to the 
charge of the parish. John H. Marsden, M. D., became 
a clergyman and was afterward rector of his native par- 
ish from 1831, with a few brief intervals until 1875. 

In 1829 Mr. Hall resigned, and Mr. Thorn again be- 
came rector " until 1831." Rev. J. H. Marsden then en- 
tered on the rectorship, holding it until 1836. Then Mr. 



GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (C.) lit 

Thorn received his third election, and remained as rec- 
tor until 1838. In 1836 it was resolved to build a brick 
chapel in Petersburg, now called York Springs, " in 
connection with old Christ Church, Huntington/' two 
and a half miles distant. This was to be called Christ 
Church Chapel. Thomas Stephens and wife gave the 
lot. The chapel was consecrated in 1836 by Bishop 
Onderdonk. Mr. Marsden was rector from 1838 to 1850. 
From 1 85 1 to 1853 we find Rev. Freeman Lane in the 
rectorship, "when death finished his labors at the age of 
52. He was laid to rest in the Stephens' burial lot, ad- 
joining and in the rear of Christ Church Chapel." Rev. 
Mr. Morss, of St. John's Church, Carlisle, officiated at 
the funeral. "A neat and simple stone marks his grave, 
and a beautiful rose bush, planted thereon by loving 
hands long ago, still blooms and sheds its fragrance 
there. M 

Rev. Edward Kennedy was the next rector. In 1859, 
Rev. W. S. Heaton was rector, and in 1863 Rev, John 
Reynolds, " being the second rector of the same name/' 
In 1865 Rev. J. H. Hobart Millett is noted as rector. 

In 1875 the old parish was joined with the Gettysburg- 
Mission, under the care of Rev. H. L. Phillips. Rev. 
Mr. Marsden had been custodian of the old parish "by 
birthright, and long service, officiating as long as health 
and advanced years permitted, performing also the 
offices of the church as called upon from time to time." 

"As a fitting and crowning event to this long history, 
when the small frame chapel of the Prince of Peace in 
Gettysburg, was opened for its first service, December 
17th, 1876, Rev. Mr. Marsden preached the sermon. He 
thus remained a connecting link from colonial days to the 
date of this union at which he officiated as if in a mar- 
riage ceremony. The name of Edward Marsden, his 



122 GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (c.) 

grandfather, appears on record as a vestryman in 1760; 
the name of his father, James Marsden, thus appearing 
also in 1798, and so continuing until his death. The 
Rev. J. H. Marsden died August 27th, 1883, at the full 
age of four score years, his wife preceding him only the 
year before. Rev. A. K. Tortat officiated at their 
funeral obsequies in Gettysburg, in whose beautiful and 
historic cemetery their ashes rest." 

Col. Woolford, a warden, as one of his last generous 
acts, put a new roof on the chapel at York Springs. 

" The stone foundations of the old church with 
chancel outlines pointing Eastward, are still visible on 
the surface level, in the midst of long rows of grave 
stones, conforming in position to the lines of the church 
walls, and marking the sleeping places of these ancient 
worthies and sturdy race." 

"The grand old oaks, under whose grateful cover the 
first missionary wrote that he preached to the overflow- 
ing congregations, still stand silent sentinels over what 
represents these sacred memories, but now a neglected 
and almost desolate spot in the midst of a very beautiful 
and well populated rural region." 

The Rev. Mr. Ege is striving to enclose these sacred 
grounds with a new fence, "and otherwise restore from 
utter ruin, this justly hallowed and historic ground, nor 
is it a vain desire and hope that the restoration may be 
fully completed by building on the old foundations a 
small stone memorial and mortuary chapel to these 
sainted dead of an hundred and fifty years line and 
lineage, and therein renew 7 the church's message and 
influence to a long forgotten neighborhood where they 
were so well known and loved." 

" The rectors of the united parishes have been as 
follows : Rev. H. L. Philips, 1875 to 1S80, Rev. A. E. 



GETTYSBURG, HUNTINGTON AND YORK SPRINGS (c.) I 23 

Tortat, 1SS0 to 1S85, Rev. William Rawlins Pickman, 
October 1884 to November 1885, locum tenens, Rev. 
Charles H.Vahdyne, March 1886 to April 29, 1888, Rev. 
T. P. Ege, (present rector), from September 1, 1888. 

To bring the history to date, I add that Rev. Thomp- 
son P. Ege received his A. M. from Dickinson College 
in 1858. He came into the church from the [Methodist 
Ministry, and was confirmed in 1883 at Christ Church 
Cathedral, Reading, by Bishop Howe. He was ordered 
deacon in 1884, in the same church by Bishop Howe, 
and priest, in 1885 by Bishop Stevens, at the Church of 
the Epiphany, Philadelphia. He was the assistant of 
Rev. Dr. Rumney, at St. Peter's, Germantown, from 
1883 to 1888. 

See the Churchman, September 6, 1890, for an article 
by Rev. Dr. Lowrie, on Gettysburg in Diocesan Xews. 

The church interest in Gettysburg with which the 
ancient parish is united, deserves a special mention as 
a proper conclusion to this historic sketch. 

Soon alter the establishing of the mission in Gettys- 
burg, it seemed fitting on account of the world-wide 
celebrity of the place, to make an effort to build a mon- 
umental, and National memorial church in accord with 
the patriotic sentiments there enshrined, to be named 
for and dedicated to " The Prince of Peace,'' 

This thought and desire took form under the earnest 
and untiring efforts, of the Rev. A. E. Tortat, M. D., 
rector from 188c to 1885. The corner-stone, however, 
was not laid until July 2, 1888, the quarter-centennial 
of the great battle, but the work grows very slowly. 
A substantial basement to floor level, has recently been 
added of native granite, of which the entire structure is 
to be built. Another stage of work is about being 
contracted for, and many tablets and other promised 



124 HARR1SBURG (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

interior memorials await the completion and roofing of 
outer walls. 

This appropriate and noble structure deserves and 
appeals most urgently for greater notice and material 
aid from the many patriotic hearts of churchmen 
throughout our land. This memorial of heroic dead 
and of a re-united and peaceful land should soon stand 
complete, and fulfill, not only hopes long indulged, but 
many promises made. Such timely aid it is hoped will 
be sent to the rector in charge, who writes this brief 
note, for and at the request of his friend, the author. 

HARRISBURG (C.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

In Dr. William Henry Egle's History of Dauphin 
County, we find an account of this parish. The State 
Librarian and author of the History of Pennsylvania 
has done much service to local history. 

The worthy Propagation Society Missionary, Rev. 
Thomas Barton, in 1766 reports that a Philadelphia mer- 
chant named John Cox has given the Society a lot for 
church uses at Estherton, "lying Northwest of Lancaster 
about forty miles on the river Susquehanna, where there 
are several families belonging to the church, who are at 
too great a distance from any stated mission to attend 
divine service." The same gentleman promised to do- 
nate twenty pounds and "collect one hundred pounds" 
among his Philadelphia friends "towards building a 
church upon said lot and his lady engages to furnish it 
with a bell." There is no record of the building of the 
church, though the good man did well to have it in his 
heart, as David forecast the building of the Temple which 
Solomon erected. An itinerant was however appointed 
who supplied vacant churches, including Estherton. 
This place was older than Harris's Ferry, the future Har- 



HARRISBURG (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. I 25 

risburg, but the Ferry led off in advancement; "butthere 
must have been at one time established services there, 
as it is stated that Bishop White preached there on sev- 
eral occasions." For account of Mr. Barton see Lan- 
caster in this volume. 

Rev. Dr. William A. Muhlenberg was the first clergy- 
man to perform Episcopal service in Harrisburg. He 
was then in St. James's Church, Lancaster, and an ac- 
count of his life may be found by turning to the article 
on Lancaster in this volume. From December, 1823 to 
June, 1824, he officiated monthly "in the old log church, 
situated at the corner of Third Street and Cherry Alley, 
which was given by the Reformed Church. 

The next services here were by Rev. Charles S. Wil- 
liams, "rector of St. John's, York." His services contin- 
ued once in three weeks for six months, beginning in 
October, 1824 The next clergyman officiating was Rev. 
James Depui, then a deacon, who labored six months, 
beginning in September, 1825. 

In 1826 a vestry had been formed as follows : "John 
B. Cox, William Mileham, John Depui, James Peacock, 
George Fisher, William Putnam, James Buchanan, Alex- 
ander C. Wilson, James Woodman, Samuel Bryan, 
John E. Forster and Joseph Curzen." 

Rev. John Baker Clemson was elected rector on March 
25th, A. D. 1826. "The organization of the parish was 
largely due to his zeal and energy." There were but 
six families of avowed church people. A notice of Dr. 
Clemson is given under the head of Chester in this 
volume. 

The corner-stone of a brick church was laid on St. 
John's Day, June 24th, 1826. On May 9th, 1827, the 
church on Front Street, a little below Pine, was conse- 
crated by Bishop White. Twenty-five persons received 
confirmation, 



126 HARRISBURG (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

A high brick tower is in front of the church, "in which 
is a fine-toned bell." The church "has been enlarged 
and remodeled internally, yet presents the same front; 
The rectory is situated on Front Street, above Pine." 

The Diocesan Convention met at St. Stephen's at the 
time of the consecration, and here Dr. H. U. Onderdonk 
was elected assistant bishop. His consecration took 
place at Christ Church, Philadelphia, on October 25th, 
1827. His first visitation to Harrisburg was made De- 
cember 27th, 1827. 

In 1835 the vestry thanked Mr. Wharton for present- 
ing " a set of Communion plates." 

The Diocesan Convention of 1841 met in St. Stephen's 
Church, and in 187 1, on the 9th of November, the first 
Convention of the new Diocese of Central Pennsylvania 
assembled here and Bishop Howe was elected ; so that 
two bishops have been here chosen. 

"The rectors of St. Stephen's have been: 1826-28; 
Rev. John B. Clemson ; 1828-29, Rev. John W. Curtis ; 
1829-31, Rev. John Reynolds; 1832-38, Rev. Nathan 
Stem (see Norristown in this volume for notices of the 
two last named gentlemen); 1838-42, Rev. Charles V. 
Kelly; 1842-44, Rev. Henry Major; 1844-52, Rev. 
Joseph H. Coit, D. D.; 1852-56, Rev. Henry H. Bean ; 
1857-60, Rev. Robert Allen Castleman ; 1860-67, Rev. 
B. B. Leacock, D. D.; 1867, Rev. Robert J. Keeling, 
D. D." 

Rev. Thomas B. Angell is the present rector. 

St. Paul's, at Sixth and Forster Streets, arose from a 
Sunday-school of St. Stephen's established in 1857. In 
1858 a frame edifice was built "at the north side of 
the reservoir, on ground donated for the purpose by- 
several of the members of St. Stephen's, and was con- 
secrated by Bishop Bowman, January 13th, 1859." In 



HAZLETON (c.) ST. PETER'S. I 27 

this year the parish was admitted into the Diocesan Con- 
vention. 

The new church is largely due to a legacy of Mr. 
Charles Conner. It was opened in 1878, and consecrated 
February, 23d, 1879. " The pastors have been : 1S60-1, 
William V. Feltwell ; 1864-5, Alfred J. Barrow ; 1865-7, 
J. H. Hobart Millett; 1868-9, Joseph S. Colton ; 1871-5, 
W. T. Bowen ; 1876-9. B. F. Brown; 1879, Leroy F. 
Baker." Mr. Baker is the present rector. 

"Between 1869 and 1871 occasional services were had 
by Rev. R. J. Keeling, D. D., and V. H. Berghaus, and 
by H. C. Pastorious, then a lay-reader. 

HAZLETON (c.) ST. PETER'S. 
.(communicated.) 

St. Peter's parish, Hazleton, owes its beginning and 
much of its later prosperity to the Rev. Peter Russell, 
who, by his actual work in its behalf, and by his unfalt- 
ering belief in its future, gathered togatherthe scattered 
sheep of the flock and bound them into a parish. 

While rector of the church at Eckley, a neighboring 
town, Mr. Russell perceived that Hazleton was destined 
to become the most important place in the upper Lehigh 
coal region and was eager to begin work there. In 1859 
he was enabled to do so, and for nearly two years he 
held occasional services in a small schoolhouse in the 
outskirts of the town. In the latter part of the Summer 
of i860 the Rev. W. S. Heaton took charge ot the work 
in Hazleton and its vicinity. He held services at Auden- 
reid, Jeanesville, Stockton and Hazleton for eighteen 
months. 

Mr. Russell, ever watchful of the little flock whom he 
had shepherded, resumed his occasional visits, until the 
Christmas of 1862 when the Rev. Thomas A. Street was 



123 HAZLETON (c.) ST. PETER'S. 

put in charge of the parish. The Rev. Henry S. Getz 
succeeded him as missionary laborer in 1863, and as 
actual rector* in 1S64. 

Mr, Getz felt keenly the need for a more suitable build- 
ing for church purposes that the small schoolhouse 
which had been used hitherto, and as a result of his ex- 
ertions, the corner-stone of a church building was laid 
in T864 and the parish was organized on the last day of 
that year. The first service was held in the new church 
on Sunday, October 8th, 1S65 and the building was con- 
secrated by Bishop Vail on April 15th, 1866. 

The Rev. Mr. Getz relinquished the parish in 1867, 
having substantial tokens of his effective services in 
the completed and furnished church building. He was 
succeeded by the Rev. Faber Byliesby. 

The Rev. Charles H. Vandyne became rector in 1870. 
During his rectorship several improvements were made 
and the membership increased, but he resigned, much 
to the sorrow of his parishioners. The Rev. J. M. 
Williams, deacon, took charge of the parish in 1873, and 
resigned in 1876. In 1876 the Rev. J. Hewitt assumed 
the rectorship. He was active and efficient and under 
his directions the church was remodeled. In 1877 he 
removed to Bellefonte. He is now rector of Holy Trin- 
ity Church, Lincoln, Nebraska. 

In 1880 Rev. Peter Russell, feeling that the parish 
needed all the encouragement his presence and ever lov- 
ing interest could give, resigned his Philadelphia charge 
and came to Hazleton, He inspired the people to new 
effort, foundations were laid for a rectory and the parish 
looked forward to a season of prosperity and growth, 
when a great blow fell upon it. Mr. Russell died in 
August, 1880, leaving not only his Hazleton parishioners 
to mourn his loss, but also the parishes in Eckley, White 




Wk.\ 

Mm 
mm 

f 



J 9 . (P&lLiri && 



KINGSESSING, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. JAMES. I 29 

Haven and Philadelphia, where he had labored so faith- 
fully and well during the last years of his ministry. 

The Rev. Charles A. Marks succeeded him in 1880 
and resigned in 1882. In 1883 Rev. James P. Buxton 
accepted the rectorship. He was much beloved by the 
people of St. Peter's and it was with regret that his resig- 
nation was accepted one year later. Mr. Buxton went 
to Drifton, a town eight miles distant. 

The Rev. Louis Cope Washburn, deacon, was in 
charge from July 1st 1884 to July 1888. He was or- 
dained in the church in 18S5 by Bishop Rulison. Mr. 
Washburn was a most active and enthusiastic worker 
and the church grew rapidly under his charge. The 
vestry were loath to accept his resignation but after a 
several times repeated call to Rochester they did so. 

The Rev. William T. Holden came to Hazleton after 
Mr. Washburn's departure. On the month of his ar- 
rival he was severely injured in an accident and in con- 
sequence was obliged to relinquish his charge. 

The present incumbent the Rev. Edwin J. Humes, 
entered upon the rectorship on the first Sunday in Ad- 
vent, December xst, 1889. 

The author adds to this sketch that the Rev. Mr. 
Humes, in his previous parish at Eddington, Bucks 
County, Pa., constructed an excellent Sunday-school 
building and a beautiful rectory, and left them as legacies 
showing the result of years of devoted work. 

KINGSESSING, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. JAMES. 

This was one of the three churches, established in and 
near the city of Philadelphia, which were united in one 
corporation, and placed under the charge of missionaries 
sent out by the King of Sweden, w T hile these States were 
vet colonies of Great Britain. The Rev. Nicholas 



J30 KINGSESSING, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. JAMES. 

Collin, D. D., the last of this line of Swedish ministry, 
died A. D. 1831. 

The church building, which stands near Woodland 
Avenue, between 68th and 69th Streets, is in the midst 
of capacious grounds. These were originally irregular 
in outline ; but, through the purchase of adjacent 
grounds, they embrace nearly four acres. The material 
of which the church is built is a gray stone, the irregu- 
lar mortar lines being ornamented with small pieces of 
the same stone, causing a peculiar but pleasing effect. 
The corner-stone of the church was laid A. D. 1760. 
The building was completed A. D. 1762. Among the 
contributors to the building fund were Captain Coultis, 
(who resided at Whitby Hall on Gray's Lane,) Governor 
Hamilton, and the Rev. Dr. Peters, rector of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia. 

During his ministry, Dr. Collin had the assistance of 
several clergymen of the Episcopal Church, and, after 
his death, viz: on December 8th, 1834, the Rev. S. C. 
Rrinckle became the first resident assistant minister of 
this church. He afterwards became rector, and continued 
in that office until May 15th, 1848, when he resigned. 

He was succeeded by Rev. J. Brinton Smith, during 
whose rectorship the affairs of the parish were greatly 
improved. The church building was enlarged. A bell 
and an organ were procured. The church, thus enlarged, 
was consecrated by Bishop Potter on December 7th? 
1854. By the liberality of Mrs. M. S. Buckley, a sub- 
stantial stone wall was built along the front of the church 
grounds A. D. 1855. In 1850 a double stone dwelling 
house with nearly three acres of land was purchased for 
a rectory. The Rev. Mr. Smith resigned in 1856, and 
became rector of a church in Troy, N. Y. He was after- 
wards en^a^ed in missionarv affairs, and finallv became 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 131 

the principal of a normal school for the education of 
Freedmen, near Raleigh, N. C, where he died sud- 
denly. 

On the 1st of May, 1857, Rev. Dr. Charles A. Maison, 
became rector. After graduating at Yale College, in 
1844, studied theology in North Carolina and at the 
General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon 
in St. Luke's Church, New York City, in 1847, and priest 
in St. Paul's Church, Edenton, N. C, in 1849 by Bishop 
Ives. After serving his diaconate in St. Paul's Church, 
he had charge of two parishes on the Roanoke River, 
(Windsor and Williamston). In 185 1 he became rec- 
tor of St. Paul's Church, Staten Island, N. Y., and in 
1857 rector of this church. During his rectorship many 
improvements have been made in the church building, 
the grounds have been enlarged, and two school build- 
ings erected, one of them through the liberality of the 
late Thomas Sparks. As a result of his extra parochial 
labors, St. George's Church, West End, Philadelphia, 
was built; services were held in the public schoolhouse 
at Clifton, leading to the erection of St. Stephen's 
Church, and servfces were commenced in aprivate house 
at Collingdale. These services have been continued by 
others, and a chapel is in course of erection at Colling- 
dale; the corner-stone having been laid by the Bishop of 
the Diocese on the 9th of October, 1890. 

Dr. Maison, the present rector, has baptized in this 
parish about 1250 persons, more than 150 being adults. 
He has officiated at about 900 funerals. 

LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

In Spenser's Faerie Queene, the origin of the name of 
the English Lancaster is thus given : 

''The stony shallow Lone, 
That to old Loncaster his name doth lend." 



132 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

While the American city lacks this ancient river the 
Conestoga Creek not far from it keeps up a memory of 
Indian days. The Latin word castrum, passing through 
the Saxon language, becomes caster, and means a camp, 
and the various English towns whose names end in 
Chester, are but another form of this word, and indicate 
the locations of the old Roman camps. 

The town of Lancaster, being the county seat of the 
county of the same name, was laid out by Governor 
Hamilton in A. D. 1730. It afterward became a bor- 
ough. St. James's Church was organized in 1744. This 
city was once for a time the capital of the State. It lies 
in the midst of a fine agricultural district and its busi- 
ness and manufactures are important. 

The trade with the surrounding country is consider- 
able. The houses of the town are mainly of brick or 
stone. 

In 1 75 1, the congregation heard of the arrival of Rev. 
George Craig, and invited him to settle there, which he 
did. In 1759, he was still acting as missionary of the 
Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. 
That year the Reverend Thomas Barton came hither. 

In Dr. Mombert's History of Lancaster County it is 
stated that missionaries of the Church of England vis- 
ited the county "as early as 1 7 1 7 or 1719." Rev. Mr. 
Backhouse, of Chester, Pa., in a letter to the Propaga- 
tion Society reported a visit in 1729 to the people of 
Conestoga, seventy miles back in the country from 
Philadelphia." The present massive walls of St. James's 
Church and the noble memorials of the dead in the 
church show a difference from the Conestoga of that day. 

The Rev. Mr. Lindsay visited the county "about 
1735," and occasionally till 1737. The church at Lan- 
caster was finished during Mr. Craig's rectorship in 1753, 



LANCASTER (C.) ST. JAMES. 1 33 

After 1 761 a steeple was built and galleries erected; bells 
were bought and a stone wall put around the graveyard. 
The improvements were completed in 1764. The present ' 
church was consecrated by Bishop White in 1820. He 
preached from Ps. 96 : 9 : (l O worship the Lord in the 
beauty of Holiness." 

By the courtesy of William Augustus Atlee, Esq., I 
am favored with a list of the missionaries and rectors of 
this parish, as contained on its records, not exactly cor- 
rect, as there are some breaks in keeping up the min- 
utes. 

The first name is that of Rev. Richard Locke, and the 
date, October 3d, A. D., 1744, while the time of his close 
of service is not marked. This first missionary came into 
this borough, and the people encouraged his remaining, 
though they had no place of worship for the use of the 
Church of England. The building of a church was 
begun under him. 

In Bishop Perry's Historical Collections of the Ameri- 
can Colonial Church there are notes concerning Mr. 
Locke. In 1747, Rev. Philip Bearcroft, Secretary of the 
Propagation Society, writes Rev. Dr. Jenney, rector of 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, from the Charter House, 
London, and speaks of Mr. Locke as the successor of 
Mr. Lindsay. In 1748, Mr. Locke reports to the Society 
"thathe is still in Lancaster County, that there is no other 
clergyman near the place, and that he meets with oppo- 
sition, and cannot have a church yet. The Jesuits, Mo- 
ravians and l\ew Lights are overrunning the country, 
and gaining ground, and the 'Justices and governing 
part' are all of that disposition, — tho' here are a great 
many well disposed people, but scattered about the coun- 
try, — that 'tis impossible under the present circumstance 
of the place that they should have a proper supply. I 



134 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

have constantly attended a Welch church, (Bangor, 
Churchtown,) every other Sunday at twenty miles dis- 
tance, and have preached and administered the Sacra- 
ments in several other places about the country since 
last March." 

Commissary Jtnney wrote the secretary that he en- 
closed a petition from the people of this section, and that 
the County of Lancaster was "very large." A reference 
to Dr. Egle's valuable History to Pennsylvania, or to 
Hotchkin's Gazetteer, which abridges it, will show that 
Lancaster County was taken from Chester County when 
emigration had increased population. Philadelphia, 
Chester, and Bucks were the original counties. Lan- 
caster was the first division, and York was the first 
county taken out of Lancaster. Cumberland, Berks, 
Northumberland, Dauphin and Lebanon have since been 
cut out of Lancaster, which was named by reason the of 
fact that John Wright, one of the first justices of the 
county, was born in Lancashire, in England. 

The Rev. Dr. Peters, of Philadelphia, offered to give 
a tract of land to the Society to aid in the support of a 
missionary, or to donate an annual subscription in 
money. 

The pitiful petition of the inhabitants of Huntington 
and Tyrone townships for a resident Church of England 
minister states that Mr. Locke is the nearest one, and 
over forty miles distant. Do church people ever think 
of their privileges of frequent services, while these men 
complained, "we are in a starving condition for the spir- 
itual nourishment of our souls nor can we ever hear 
Divine service without traveling many miles ? " They 
refer touchingly to the ignorance of their children and 
the lack of Holy Baptism. 

The congregation of Bangor Church, in 1749, wrote 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. I 35 

the secretary that their supplies had been small, " until 
the arrival of ye Rev. Mr. Locke who hath been very 
diligent every other Sunday for the most part in minis- 
tering unto us the means of Salvation." By his removal 
the\' were destitute, as well as the church at Pequea, 
about eight miles from them. 

The missionary from 1 75 1 to 1 75 8 was the Rev. George 
Craig. In 1752 he reports to the Society from Lancaster 
that where his predecessor Mr. Locke had lived a very 
good stone church would be finished that Summer. He 
had hoped that it would have been completed before, 
but the lack of a minister had discouraged the people, 
as was a common trouble in the province, as the Society's 
income was not lar^e enough to remedv this evil, and 
the only way to remove what the people called "a famine 
of the Word" was to send a bishop to America. The 
expense of going to England for ordination, and the low 
state of the finances of the Society deterred young men 
from entering the ministry who might be satisfied with 
the voluntary subscriptions of some congregations, there 
being no legal provision for their support. 

In 1760, Mr. Craig reports from Chester, Pa, where 
he remained seven years, and for a further account cf 
him the reader may turn to the History of St. Paul's 
Church, Chester, in this volume. 

I insert a part of a lecture which I delivered to a Sun- 
day-school Association of a portion of the Diocese of 
Central Pennsylvania, at Paradise. This section has 
been served by distinguished churchmen. One of them, 
Dr. Cruse, was the librarian of the General Theological 
Seminary in New York, and the translator of the Eccle- 
siastical History of Eusebius from the Greek, and a pro- 
found scholar. Bishop Charles Inglis, of Nova Scotia, 
once taught school in Lancaster. 



T 36 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES 

The Rev. Thomas Barton is the first missionary who til 
we will particularly describe. He was born in Ireland in 
1730, and educated at the famous Trinity College, Dublin. 
He became an assistant tutor in the Academy of Phila- 
delphia, which was connected with the College of Phila- 
delphia, which college was afterwards merged into the 
University of Pennsylvania, now so widely known. In 
1755, he went to England for ordination, as there was no 
bishop in this country. On his return he wrote to the 
people of Huntington announcing his arrival, and, ac- 
cording to the primitive fashion of the day, they gladly 
sent wagons to convey their minister and his goods 
westward. The vehicle that bore this missionary car- 
ried a precious freight. Huntington is now York ?>Iills. 
Mr. Barton became an itinerant missionary in the coun- 
ties of York and Cumberland. His biography is given 
in the Annals of the painstaking Dr. Sprague, and he is 
noticed in the Rev. Mr. Hawkins's History of the Mis- 
sions of the Church of England, and the Documentary 
History of New York, and the Memoir of Rittenhouse 
in Thatcher's Medical Biography. 

Mr. Barton found the Church of Iingland people in 
"large numbers" in Shippensburgh and some other 
places. He lived at Lancaster for nearly twenty years, 
and used to officiate sometimes at the church in New 
London, thirty-five miles from Lancaster, and at White 
Clay Creek, which was sixty miles from Lancaster, in 
what is now the State of Delaware. The health of the 
faithful missionary was impaired by this hard work, but 
he toiled on manfully. In 1770, he received the degree 
of Master of Arts from King's College, New York, 
which has now lost its royal name, and is styled Colum- 
bia College. 

In the Revolution Mr. Barton was obliged to leave his 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 137 

work, as he could not conscientiously omit the prayer 
for the King and Royal Family. He believed that his 
ordination vow demanded its use. When his churches 
were closed he taught his people "from house to house," 
as St. Paul did, and baptized and catechized the children, 
performing such duties as he could in private. He went 
within the British lines at New York in 1778, and died 
in 1780, in his fiftieth year. In 1753, he married Esther 
Rittenhouse, the sister of the celebrated astronomer, 
David Rittenhouse, at Philadelphia. His second wife 
was Miss Thornbury, whom he married in 1776. She 
long survived him, and was much esteemed. He left 
eight children. His son, Benjamin S. Barton, was a 
professor of note in the University of Pennsylvania 
dying in 181 5. The Rev. Mr. Barton's eldest son William 
wrote the Life of Rittenhouse. The missionary's widow 
died at the age of ninety. 

John Penn, the Proprietary of Pennsylvania, com- 
mended Mr. Barton highly in a letter. 

When, in 1755, Mr. Barton reached this country, after 
an agreeable passage, the people at York Mills welcomed 
him heartily, and were full of gratitude to the Propaga- 
tion Society for this benefit. The clerical ministrations 
in this new country were like rain on the newly mown 
grass. The flock in this Western wilderness had met on 
Sundays, and one of their number had read the prayers 
of the dear Mother Church, which had so often resounded 
in the walls of English churches. Mr. Barton visited York 
and Carlisle, which were parts of his cure. He deter- 
mined to visit other places to prepare the people "for the 
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and and to baptize their 
children." Hearers increased, and at York Mills he was 
sometimes obliged to preach "under the covert of the 
trees." So the people "heard the voice of the Lord 
10 



138 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

God walking in the garden in the cool of the day;" and, 
as the multitude who were fed with the multiplied loaves 
on the grassy hillside, received the Bread of Life. The 
open air is the great cathedral of God, and the vaulted 
blue roof above the heads of the worshipers displayed 
the glory of God as the sun shining in strength told of 
"the Sun of Righteousness," and the singing birds 
joined their chorus to the hymns that stirred the ajr with 
sounds new to the wilderness. • 

Persons came fifty or sixty miles to Carlisle to hear 
Mr. Barton preach the Gospel. Such earnestness puts to 
shame many who are lukewarm in the service of God 
to-day. Perhaps if men were deprived of their religious 
privileges for a time they would more highly prize them. 
Light, air and water are abundant, and men use them as 
if they had a vested right in these constant gifts of God. 
Dissenters attended the services of the missionary, and 
" seemed well disposed, always behaving themselves de- 
cently and devoutly." "Some of the principal" (per- 
sons) offered to subscribe generously for Mr. Barton's 
support. The missionary thought that the Reverend 
Provost William Smith, of the College of Philadelphia, 
had well described his position, in writing to him that he 
was "as one who had advanced to the very frontiers of 
the Messiah's Kingdom and among the first who had 
unfolded His everlasting banners in the remotest part of 
the West." As Mr. Barton's missions bordered on 
savage nations, he had strong hopes that he might bring 
some of them to the Kingdom of Christ. When some 
Indians came down from the Ohio to Carlisle to sell 
their furs he went among them. Some who understood 
English came to church at his invitation. When he 
visited them in the afternoon those who had been at 
church seemed to be telling the others what they had 




ST. JAMES S CHURCH, INTERIOR. 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 1 39 

heard, "pointing often upwards/' as they spoke, and the 
discourse seemed to please the hearers. It is a pleasant 
thought that in the large Indian school at Carlisle, under 
Captain Pratt, the Christian truths which the missionary 
endeavored to inculcate in the last century are now bear- 
ing fruit, and the other day at the Consecration of St. An- 
drew's Church, at Yardley, Pennsylvania, a lady told me 
of her deep interest in the Indian pupils from that school 
who worked in the neighborhood and formed her bright 
attentive and affectionate Sunday-school class. I presume 
that others are thus instructed when they are absent from 
the school, and they will carry the blessed truths of 
Christ's salvation to their red brethren in the distant West. 

In his ministrations Mr. Barton sometimes officiated 
in a barn, and the simple surroundings were impressive 
and striking in the worship of that Blessed Saviour who 
was born in a rude manger, and worshiped by shep- 
herds in infancy. We read of his baptizing an Indian 
girl who had been brought up in a Christian family, and 
so the prophecy of Christ, that they should come from 
the west to " sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob " 
in the heavenly kingdom found a fulfillment. Provost 
Smith told the missionary of the Propagation Society's 
design to instruct Indian children "at the Academy in 
Philadelphia." He hopes that Indian boys can be edu- 
cated to take back Christianity to their tribes. Rev. Dr. 
Smith deserves great credit for his efforts to impart a 
solid education to Indians and whites in an early day. 

In 1759, Mr. Barton removed to Lancaster. He had 
acted as chaplain in the army for a short time under 
General Forbes, and knew Washington and Mercer. 

The Episcopal inhabitants of York and Cumberland 
speak of his "truly pious and extraordinary services,'" 
and "the many virtuous impressions made" by them. 



140 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

Mr. Barton thought that the missionaries would cheer- 
fully go among the Indians and undergo danger and 
fatigue if the superiors in the Old Country ordered it. 

In 1760, the population at Lancaster was largely Ger- 
man. At Caernarvon (Churchtown) "a thick settlement 
of Welch, * * * sincere members of the Church of 
England, * * * built a new church of hewn stone, 
and are now finishing the inside of it, to which they have 
given the name of Bangor, from their native diocese in 
Wales. To this church belongs a good glebe, and the 
provision made for a minister is as good as can be 
expected." The Rev. Samuel McElwee now has charge 
of that parish. (See Churchtown in this volume.) 

At Pequea they, as the missionary reports, "have 
erected a decent stone church, which they dedicated to 
St. John." The people were "possessed with a spirit of 
religion and emulation." They were "building a pul- 
pit, Communion table and enclosing the graveyard with 
a stone wall. They have a good glebe." He adds: 
" The remarkable zeal which appears in my congregations 
affords me the highest joy." This is an echo of the joy 
of St. John when his spiritual children walked "in the 
truth," and every clergyman desires to be a partaker of 
such joy. The churches at Pequea and Caernarvon did 
not receive assistance from the public. In their erection 
"even poverty herself has been liberal. Many people 
who content themselves to dwell in the meanest huts 
contributed handsomely towards this good work," is 
the loving testimony of their pastor. The effect of 
Christianity is to open the heart to contribute to what- 
ever may enhance the glory of God and further the good 
of man. In the first flush of the early love of the Mace- 
donian Christians, St. Paul wrote that "The abundance 
of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 14I 

riches of their liberality/' to the poor saints at Jerusalem. 
(See Pequea in this volume). 

The churches of the congregations of Mr. Barton made 
a decent appearance, and were crowded on summer Sun- 
days with people of various denominations, many of them 
coming thirty and forty miles to service. The exposure 
in traveling between parishes in summer heat and winter 
cold impaired the constitution of the missionary, who 
was like St. Paul, " in journeyings often." 

An aged man named Nathan Evans, who showed 
great generosity in a large donation to complete the 
Caernarvon church, and another to endow it, deserves 
honorable mention as loving his nation like the centurion 
who built the synagogue mentioned in the Gospels. A 
good leader makes good followers, and Rev. Alexander 
Murray writes of Mr. Barton's "singular merit." In 
passing, let me note, also, that the Rev. Mr. Treadwell's 
" unwearied labors" at Trenton are mentioned by Rev. 
Philip Reading, after his death. There may have been 
many others who deserve a like notice. 

Mr. Barton opened a small stone church at Morgan- 
town, now in Berks county, in 1765, built by the will of 
Thomas Morgan. The ride from Bangor Church to St, 
Thomas's, Morgantown, runs through a most beautiful ' 
country, and the view of the hills must have cheered and 
delighted the parson as he passed between his parishes 
in his scattered work. The hills of God still lift their 
heads heavenward and proclaim the glory of their maker. 

The earnest missionary hopes that one day the Ameri- 
can Church may "be the great ornament and blessing 
of this immense continent." He was naturally a hope- 
ful man, and such a spirit was needed in his toils, and 
was given by God to lighten them. The lack of bishops 
was sadly felt, as churches needed consecration ; and 



142 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

confirmation and ordination were lacking. In this 
respect Mr. Barton likened the American Church to a 
mourning child who will not be comforted. What a 
comfort it would have been for him to behold the noble 
array of bishops who have since adorned the church in 
this country. At the opening of the elegant Lutheran 
Church in Lancaster, Mr. Barton was invited to preach, 
and allowed to use the liturgy. 

The Rev. Dr. William Smith visited the mission of 
this worthy clergyman and found him " universally 
beloved by his people." He prepared a book of Family 
Prayers to guide the devotions of households. There 
was a copy of this volume in the library of Bishop 
Stevens. 

Mr. Barton died in New York City, and was buried in 
the chancel of St. George's Chapel. 

Two sons lived in Lancaster. The Rev. Prof. J. Graff 
Barton, who was associated with Dr. Muhlenberg in St. 
Paul's College, near Flushing, Long Island, was a 
descendant. His brother was the brilliant Judge Wash- 
ington Barton, whose wife was a sister of Rev. Dr. 
Clemson. The Rev. Messrs. Ritchie, of St. James the 
Less, Philadelphia, and St. Ignatius, New York City, are 
descendants of Mr. Barton by one of his daughters. 
Strong and earnest churchmen and women among his 
descendants keep up the good work which the zealous 
missionary began in this country. There is an oil paint- 
ing of Mr. Barton in academical gown and bands in the 
possession of the Carpenter family. It is a copy by 
Eicholtz of the original which was supposed to have been 
destroyed by fire in the house of his descendant, Mrs. 
Edwin Stevens, of Hoboken. The Athenaeum, of Phila- 
delphia, had an engraving made from one picture. The 
missionary had a coat of arms, but he was a true " red 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 143 

crosse knight " in a nobler service than that described by 
Spenser in his " Faerie Queene." 

Alexander Harris's biographical history of Lancaster 
County gives sketches of several descendants of this 
remarkable man. 

When the flock at York Mills asked for Mr. Barton as 
their missionary they little knew the blessings that for 
generations would flow to the church from their wise 
act. 

The Rev. Joseph Hutchins, D. D., was the rector of 
this parish from 1783 to 1785. He was the grand-uncle 
of Rev. Benjamin Hutchins, who was ordained by Bishop 
White, and now lives in Albion, Illinois. This gentle- 
man writes me that Joseph's brother Benjamin is his 
grandfather. His own father, Henry Joseph, was born 
in Barbadoes, and is said to have been brought to this 
country for education by his father. The Lancaster 
clergyman was a resident of Philadelphia and was buried 
there. In 1 821, he returned from Barbadoes and bought 
a house on Race street, next door below Seventh, where 
he died. He was buried in Christ Church graveyard, 
Fifth and Arch streets. His house was called "West 
India Palace." It was then No. 232. Mr. Hutchins 
went to England during the last war with that country. 
This clergyman was a teacher, and instructed two gen- 
erations of scholars. He put out an English grammar. 
His school was in Pear Street, near Third. He was a 
friend of Rev. Dr. Pilmore. His grand-nephew T thinks 
he must have begun teaching in Lancaster, before resign- 
ing St. James's Church. He believes that he was a 
curate in Barbadoes. 

The local historian, Samuel Evans, of Columbia, Pa., 
writes me that his "father was a student of Mr. Hutch- 
ins." 



144 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

The Rev. Elisha Rigg held the rectorship of St. 
James's Church from 1791 to 1796. 

Miss Whittingham, librarian of the Diocesan Library, 
of Maryland, gives me the following notes about him : 

Rev. Elisha Riggs, from Pennsylvania, where he was 
rector of St. James's, Lancaster, 1790, 1, 2 and 3, came to 
St. Paul's, Queen Anne, Md., 1797, where he died, Feb- 
ruary 6th, 1804. In 1797 and 1799 he was a delegate to 
the General Convention, and in 1803 he preached the 
sermon before the Annual Convention, of Maryland. He 
left a widow and several children, who removed, in 
April, 1814, to Columbia, Lancaster County, Pa., to 
reside with Mrs. Riggs's brother, John Atlee. 

Bishop Burgess states that he was ordained deacon by 
Bishop White, December 21st, 1788. (This refers to the 
valuable list of ordinations by Bishop George Burgess, 
of Maine.) 

REV. JOSEPH CLARKSON. 

The memoir ofGerardus Clarkson, by his great-grand- 
son, Samuel Clarkson, issued in 1890, gives an account 
of Rev. Joseph Clarkson, which I will follow. The 
Philadelphia Clarksons date back to the time of James 
the First, and in Yorkshire Annals the name may be 
found on records for five centuries. In 1675, Robert 
Clarkson was a warden of St. Peter's Church, Bradford, 
in which church he was buried among his relatives. His 
son, William, was in 1645 Vicar of Adel. 

Dr. Gerardus Clarkson was a Philadelphia physician. 

In 1783 the Doctor was a warden of Christ Church. 

"He died in 1790, and his burial place is St. Peter's 

Churchyard. " Bishop White officiated at the funeral. " 

Dr. Dorr's History of Christ Church, states that his 
son Joseph was ordained by Bishop White, on Whitsun 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 145 

Monday, May 28th, 1787, in Christ Church, to the Dia- 
conate with Joseph Couden. This bestowing of "The 
Holy Order of Deacons" was Bishop White's first ordina- 
tion. Rev. Dr. Magaw, rector of St. Paul's and Vice- 
Provost, of the University of Pennsylvania, preached. 

The father's dying blessing was given to each child 
with an exhortation to a Christian life. 

The son Joseph was born, February 27th, 1765. He 
married Grace Cooke. His death occurred, January 
25th, 1830. 

The English-looking picture of young Joseph Clark- 
son, in the memorial volume, is very striking. 

Joseph Clarkson was baptized in Christ Church by 
Dr. Peters, in 1765. He attended Rev. Dr. Robert 
Smith's Classical School, in Lancaster County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, 
at seventeen, and received his "M. A." from Princeton 
College in 1785. The portrait given is supposed to be 
by DuSimitiere. The young man seems to have been 
early impressed with a sense of religious duty, and a de- 
sire to enter the ministry. Rev. Robert Blackwell, as- 
sistant minister of Christ and St. Peter's Churches, 
guided his studies. 

On ordination, Mr. Clarkson became the Assistant of 
of Dr. Nicholas Collin, rector of the Swedish Churches, 
of Wicacoa, Upper Merion, (Bridgeport) and Kingses- 
sing. He held this post until 1792. In 1789, he was 
Secretary to the House of Bishops, at Philadelphia. 
Bishops White and Seabury were the two bishops 
meeting. 

Rev. Lawrence Girelius resigned Holy Trinity Church, 
Wilmington, and went back to Sweden in 1791. Mr. 
Clarkson became his successor, and the Swedish Church 
of Christina became an Episcopal church. 



146 Lancaster (c.) st. jam£§. 

In 1799, ^ r - Clarkson began his work as minister of 
St. James's, Lancaster. The wardens w r ere Hon. Jasper 
Yeates and Edward Hand, St. John's, Pequea and Christ 
Church, Leacock, were under Mr. Clarkson's care. In 
1 81 8, efforts were made to rebuild the old church, which 
was of stone. Robert Coleman, Charles Smith and 
Adam Reigart were the committee to select a site and 
superintend the building. John Passmore was Treas- 
urer. In 1820, on Sunday, October 15th, Bishop White 
assisted by Rev. Dr. Levi Bull and Rev. Dr. \V. A. 
Muhlenberg, consecrated the new church and admitted 
Mr. Snowden to the priesthood. There was a large con- 
gregation. 

Mr. (afterwards Dr.) W. A. Muhlenberg, was called 
as Associate-Rector. The day after the consecration 
thirty were confirmed. 

Mr. Clarkson held his rectorship thirty years until he 
died, in 1830. " He was a man well beloved by his par- 
ishioners, and had during his long life a very peaceful 
ministry." He died in his 64th year. 

The wife of Mr Clarkson was the daughter of Rev. 
Samuel Cooke, of Frederickton, New Brunswick. The 
children were four sons and four daughters. Mary 
married John Passmore, and her two sons became Epis- 
copal clergymen. Harriet Rumsey married Rev. Samuel 
Bowman in 1836 and died in 1852. The widow of 
Bishop Vail is a daughter of Bishop Bowman by his 
first wife, Miss Sitgreaves, of Easton, Pennsylvania. 

The wife of Rev. Joseph Clarkson died in Lancaster, 
in 1824, in her 58th year. Husband and wife rest in St, 
James's Churchyard. Many of the dead in Christ who 
lie in the interesting old graveyard were laid in their 
last resting place by this rector. The father of Bishop 
Clarkson was Michael Cooke Clarkson, son of Rev. 



LANCASTER (C.) ST. JAMES. 14) 

Joseph Clarkson. His mother was Louisa, daughter of 
Robert Harper, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Bishop 
Clarkson's. noble history is familiar to the church. In 
early youth he planted Christ's banner in young Chicago, 
and in time built the finest church then in the city. The 
Church called him to push farther West, and he left a 
loved congregation for a toilsome work in imitation of 
his Blessed Master. When a lady in a railway car 
asked concerning the pretty churches in Nebraska, with 
cross-crowned spires, which could be seen by the traveler 
how glad he was to respond to the stranger that they 
were the daughters of his work and parts of his diocese. 
The brave man who had cheerfully endured toil for 
Christ, hopefully met death, and has entered into his 
promised reward, and is "numbered with Thy saints in 
glory everlasting." May we have grace to follow him. 
I was a member of his parish in Chicago, and visited his 
cheerful home, and heard his instructive preaching, and 
saw his godly life. He was a wise dispenser of the 
Word and Sacraments, and I gladly lay this tribute on 
his tomb with the vast congregation at Omaha, who 
mourned a leader's death. 

In 1820, Rev. Wm. A. Muhlenberg was associated 
with Mr. Clarkson. He had been assistant in Christ, St. 
Peter's and St. James's Churches, Philadelphia, under 
Bishop White. I saw him once with his "hoary head," 
as, "a crown of glory," at St Luke's Hospital, which he 
founded in New York, and I have observed the gentle 
grace of his ministry in the church of the Holy Com- 
munion in that city. Sister Anne Ayres wrote his life. 
He was born in Philadelphia; and the reverent child, ex- 
pecting to be a clergyman, used to have church and 
preach to the family. He and his little sister went to 
Christ Church. The boy loved the organ. The ground 



148 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

for St. James's Church in Seventh Street, was bought of 
his mother, and she became a parishioner there. Bishop 
Kemper's preaching influenced the son, who wrote, 
"Religion is My delight." In 1817, Bishop White or- 
dained him. At Lancaster, Bishop Kerfoot was his Sun- 
day-school pupil. After leaving Lancaster, Dr. Muhlen- 
berg worked bravely in St. Paul's College, near Flush- 
ing, and his chapel services taught the pupils the beauty 
of the church year. Bishops Bedell and Odenheimer 
were pupils. St. Luke's Hospital, with its blessed 
chapel, and St. Johnland, on Long Island, where he is 
buried, are monuments to Dr. Muhlenberg. This 
uselfish man taught the rich the luxury of doing good. 
With a few dollars he could believe that St. Luke's 
Hospital would rise, and hundreds of thousands have 
flown into it. Our blessed Lord said: "All things are 
possible to him that believeth." This humble, loving 
man was thankful, trustful and gentle, and the hymn, 
"Jesus the very thought of Thee," indicates his charac- 
ter. Free churches, weekly communions and abeautiful 
ritual in this land owe much to this great leader, and 
Lancaster may be proud of its connection with him. 
For a longer notice see Early Clergy of Pennsylvania 
and Delazuare. 

Rev. L. S. Ives was associate rector with Mr. Clark- 
son, in 1826 and 1827. 

Bishop Bowman was the assistant and successor of 
Mr. Clarkson. He was beloved by those w r ithin and 
without his flock, and after his sudden and lonely death 
when walking on the side of the railway, was buried in 
St. James's Churchyard, Lancaster, to which place he 
fondly clung as his old home. 

His life is shortly given under ths head of Bishops in 
the present volume. It should be written at length by 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 149 

some friend. J. M. W. Geist, one of the editors of the 
New Era, has written an excellent newspaper sketch 
which should be put in a more permanent shape. The 
philanthropist and citizen was described by him after 
his sudden death had shocked the community, and the 
people at large, as well as the church, felt the loss of a 
true bishop. He quotes Col. Forney, who described 
him as "an easy, graceful reader," with a strong and 
well cultivated voice. On weekdays he extemporized 
with "great effect." He was meek and humble and 
warm-hearted and benevolent ; with the sick or dying 
he was sympathetic and helpful, and was faithful in visit- 
ing those in health. To Mr. Forney's sketch of the 
living man here followed, Mr. Geist adds his own eulogy 
after death, noting his love for his parish ; many of his 
parishioners preceded him to Paradise, and he mourned 
their loss. In the last history of Lancaster County, Mr. 
Geist gives a sketch of the Bishop's life. 

I add some further notes by Mr. Geist. 

The sudden death of his father, by an accident, brought 
him under religious conviction, and changed the aims of 
his life. He studied theology under Bishop White. His 
first charge was Christ Church Parish, Lancaster county, 
where he remained until 1825, when he was elected rector 
of Trinity Church, Easton. In 1827 he became assistant 
minister in St. James's Church, Lancaster, and in 1830, 
rector. The last sermon he ever preached, having been 
delivered in St. John's, on the Sunday evening preceding 
what proved to be his last visitation in the diocese. 

Bishop Bowman was an able writer, a speaker of 
unusual eloquence and logical power, and very popular 
as a citizen in the community where he labored the best 
part of his life, and where his sudden death was univers- 
ally mourned. 



150 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

The author of this volume would add that in Bishop 
Stevens's sermon on Bishop Bowman, he beautitully de- 
scribes the lad as returning from his father's funeral and 
taking up the family Bible and conducting family prayer 
in the afflicted household where he was now to take a 
new part. 

God blessed him with a good mother, and added the 
further blessing of a good wife. 

Jacob Isidor Mombert, was born in Cassel, Germany, 
in 1829. He was in business in England in youth, and 
studied there, and afterward at Leipsic and Heidelberg. 
He was ordained in the Church of England and was a 
curate in Quebec, Canada. In 1859 he became assistant 
of St. James's Church, Lancaster, and served this church 
ten years, becoming rector. He then became the Ameri- 
can Chaplain, at Dresden, Saxony. He was afterward 
rector of St. John's, Passaic, N. J. He resigned that 
post in 1882. The University of Pennsylvania gave him 
the degree of D. D. He translated Tholuck's Commen- 
tary on the Psalms, and "Commentary on the Catholic 
Epistles," in the Lange series. He has also edited other 
treatises on the Holy Scriptures, and written "Faith 
Victorious, an account of the venerable Dr. Johann 
Ebel, late Archdeacon of the Town Church, of Konigs- 
berg, Prussia ;" "Handbook of the English Versions of 
the Bible," and "Great Lives, a Course of Histories in 
Biographies," and he has a " Life of Charlemagne," in 
manuscript — Appleton's Cyclopcedia of American Biog- 
raphy. 

Rev. Edward Shippen Watson, D. D., was rector of 
St. James's Church from 1870 to 1877. He was born in 
Philadelphia in 1826, and educated at the University of 
Pennsylvania, ordered deacon by Bishop Whittingham, 
and ordained priest by Bishop Odenheimer. He has 





BISHOP KNIGHT, MILWAUKEE, WIS. 
From "Illustrated American." 



LAN'CASTER (c.) ST. JAMES, 151 

held the rectorships of St. James the Less, Philadelphia; 
St, Barnabas, Newark, N. J., and the Redeemer, Bryn 
Mawr, Pa., and for*a short time served St. Asaph's, Bala. 
The work at Lancaster prospered under his earnest care, 
and he stirred the people into vigorous action. The new 
chancel, of which Burns, of Philadelphia, was the archi- 
tect, was built under him. 

The present rector, Rev. Mr. Robottom, writes me of 
Dr. Watson: "His name is honored and revered in this 
parish, particularly amongst the poor." 

Dr. Watson now resides in Philadelphia. 

THE RT. REV. CYRUS FREDERIC KNIGHT, D. D., D. C. L. 

Born in Boston, March 28th, 183 1. Studied in Burling- 
ton College, N. J., and Harvard University, and Oxford, 
England. Graduated at General Theological Seminary, 
N. Y.,1854. Ordained deacon, July 2d, 1854, in Trinity 
Church, N. Y., by Bishop Wainwright. Priest in St. 
Luke's, Philadelphia, Trinity Sunday, 1856, by Bishop 
A. Potter. Consecrated Bishop of Milwaukee, in the 
Cathedral of that See, March 26th, 1889. 

The church tower was built in his rectorship, and Mr. 
Burns was the architect. 

"The fourth Bishop of Milwaukee, after several years of 
travel abroad, he became rector of St. Mark's parish, 
Boston. After remaining there for ten years, he became 
rector of St. James's parish, Hartford, Connecticut, thus 
remaining until 1877. In that year he entered upon his 
last parochial work, at St. James's Church, Lancaster, 
Central Pennsylvania, where he remained until his 
elevation to the Episcopate. Dr. Knight was for many 
years a deputy to the General Convention, success- 
ively representing the Dioceses of Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and Central Pennsylvania. At the time 



152 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

of his election to the Episcopate, he was a member 
of the standing committee and an examining chap- 
lain, of the latter diocese. Consecrated Bishop of 
Milwaukee, in All Saints' Cathedral, Milwaukee, on 
March 26th, 1889, the ''morrow of the Annunciation," 
by Bishops McLaren, of Chicago; Perry, of Iowa; Bur- 
gess, of Quincy; Seymour, of Springfield; Walker, of 
North Dakota, and Gilbert, assistant of Minnesota. He 
received the degree of D. D. from Bethany College, 
Kansas, in 1880, and that of D. C. L., from Bishops' 
College, Canada, in 1885, and S. T. D., from Racine 
College." 
[Living Church Quarterly, December, 1890.] 

I add that Bishop Knight was once assistant at St. 
Luke's, Germantown, Philadelphia. 

Rev. Percy J. Robottom was born in 1S60. His boy- 
hood was passed in St. John's Free Church, Jersey City 
Heights, with Bishop Rulison as his rector, who was 
the first rector of St. John's, and his spiritual father, and at 
his suggestion he studied for the ministry. He graduated 
from Hobart College, 1881. Was in business in New 
York, and for a year or so was on the city staff of the 
New York Tribune. His experience on the great city 
paper was of priceless value to him. It aided him to 
act promptly, to think rapidly, to write fluently and 
formulate easily. He graduated from the Theological 
Seminary in 1886, and was made deacon, Trinity Sunday, 
in St. John's Church, Jersey City Heights, 1886, by 
Bishop Starkey. During his seminary course he served 
as a lay reader at St. Luke's Church, Phillipsburg, New 
Jersey. His first charge was at Tioga, Pa., St. Andrew's 
Church, and a mission at Lawrenceville. In January, 
1889, he went to Christ Church, Towanda, Pa., and in 
April, 1890, came to St. James's, Lancaster. He was 



Lancaster (c.) st. james. 153 

advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Rulison, in Trinity 
Church, Easton, Pa., on May 4th, 1887. 

A printed pamphlet, containing the report of the Parish 
Organization of St. James's Church for 3890, shows com- 
mendable activity in church work. There are frequent 
services, and a weekly administration of the Holy 
Eucharist. There is also a chapel connected with the 
parish. The rector's Church Warden and Registrar is 
William Augustus Atlee, Esq. 

The pamphlet states that the records of the parish 
have a minute of the first election of rector, wardens and 
vestrymen, and that the date is October 3d, 1744. 

The name, "St. James' Church, in ye Borough of 
Lancaster," was given in 1753. 

There are some endowments left by the piety of Mrs. 
Ann Coleman, Miss Mary Ross, Dr. John L. Atlee, Miss 
Sarah H. Coleman, Mrs. M. C. Freeman, Mrs. Ann C. 
Alden, Mrs. Annie L. Wiley, Miss Josephine Lewis, and 
Mr. Clement B. Grubb. A part of these are for a Church- 
yard Fund. I heartily wish that every parish in the 
land could report endowments, for they are sadly needed 
in church work, and in the sacred preservation of burial 
places, and Christian people ought to look forward to 
the future needs of the church in their wills, as they 
strive to forecast the wants of their families. We should 
have a sense of personal obligation to the Lord's family, 
which is His holy church. 

St. James's Orphan Asylum also has an endowment. 
Mrs. J. S. Messersmith is the President of the Board of 
Managers. The building is on North Duke Street, 
' " adjoining the parish school building." 

The Bishop Bowman Church Home perpetuates the 
memory of a saintly man in its name. The rector is Presi- 
dent of the Board of Trustees, and William Blackwood, 
11 



154 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JAMES. 

M. D., is Secretary, and G. Ross Eshleman, Treasurer. 
Mrs. William P. Brinton is President of the Board oi 
Managers. 

St. James's Chapel is on the corner of South Lime and 
Locust Streets. The deed to the rector, wardens and 
vestry is dated January 8th, 1869. 

The Yeates Institute is under a Board of Trustees, of 
which the rector is President, and George M. Franklin, 
Esq., is Treasurer, and Christian R. Baer Secretary. 
The Rev. Montgomery R. Hooper, M. A., is Head 
Master. Mr. Olin C. Joline and Mrs. R. C. Schiedt 
assist him. This school was incorporated in 1857. Its 
object is to prepare young men for college or scientific 
schools, and especially to advance the education of those 
who are studying for the holy ministry of the church. 
Miss Catharine Yeates endowed the school liberally. 
The school, and the house of the master "are on the 
corner of North Duke and Walnut Streets. " There are 
a number of scholarships, "to which pupils are elected 
by the trustees, the income of which pays the tuition and 
provides the necessary text-books." 

" The school house is a new, fire-proof brick building, 
containing a large study hall, recitation rooms, a labora- 
tory, a gymnasium, and a cloak room, all well lighted 
and heated." 

The superintendent of St. James's Church Sunday- 
school is George B. Wilson, and the Librarian is John 
B. Rupley, and the Treasurer, Benjamin C. Atlee. The 
Chapel Sunday-school is under the Superintendency of 
J. M. Davidson, and Charles Kilgore is Librarian, and 
McDonald McCaskey, Assistant Librarian. 

This pamphlet indicates a working parish, and dis- 
plays a great advance in life if we look back to the 
weakness and poverty of colonial days. May this pros- 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 15$ 

perity increase, and this famous parish do much more 
good in the city where it is planted, and by its mission- 
ary gifts over the world. The English Propagation 
Society sowed good seed in a good field, and it is bring- 
ing forth spiritual fruit a hundred fold. This is an 
encouragement in this new land to do for the West what 
was formerly done for Lancaster ; that is, aid the needy 
in laying foundations on which future builders may raise 
noble structures to God's glory and man's benefit. 

When I looked on the clear signature of the early 
missionary, Thomas Barton, in the Vestry Records 
shown me by William Augustus Atlee, Esq., it was a 
striking note of the passing generations, and when he 
wrote that name in old Lancaster how little did he dream 
of the new Lancaster, with its manufactures and railways 
and newspapers, and its numerous church institutions. 
May the future Lancaster show as promising a change 
in the coming century. 

While Mr. Barton was pleading earnestly with Eng- 
land for an American Episcopate, he knew not that three 
bishops were to go forth from the rectors who should 
minister in St. James's parish in after years. The his- 
tory of this one parish is a remarkable illustration of the 
manner in w T hich God has blessed the growth of the vine 
of His church, planted in prayers and tears by faithful 
missionaries in early days. 

st. john's free church. 

Mr. J. M. W. Geist, the Secretary of the Vestry of 
this church, prepared a valuable pamphlet on its history 
from which the facts in this sketch will be drawn. It 
was published in 1873. He has added other points in 
this narrative which is mainly his production. The 
founding of this church was mainly due, under God, to 



156 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 

Bishop Bowman, who was its first rector, w T hen he was 
also rector of St. James's Church. He ardently de- 
sired to establish a free church. A zealous layman 
of St James's Church, whose name is not given, 
aided the efforts of his rector. A Sunday-school was 
started in a public school building, in which Miss 
Calder (afterward Mrs. Martha Ehler), "was the first 
teacher." Miss Mary Bowman, the rector's sister, was 
also an earnest helper in the new parish. She founded 
the Children's Home, in Lancaster. A lot of ground 
was bought on the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut 
Streets. Bishop Bowman gave largely himself, to the 
new undertaking. Bishop Potter laid the cornerstone 
of the church in 1853. O. C. M. Caines was the con- 
tractor. The building committee were Isaac Diller, 
Edward Morton and Henry E. Slaymaker. 

In 1854, Rev. Henry A. Coit, D. D., was elected as- 
sistant minister, and this year services were held in the 
lecture room. Mr. Coit also taught a school in the 
basement of the church. In the book entitled, "Me- 
morial Papers," Dr. Bowman described this parish with 
its English and German Sunday-school teachers, and its 
music class under the late Prof. Budd, and the adult 
classes on week evenings, who were taught to read and 
write, and the girls' class for sewing, and other instruc- 
tion, and the proposed plan of Cottage Lectures. 

On September 24th, 1854, Bishop Potter consecrated 
the church, assisted by Dr. Bowman and Rev. Messrs. 
Passmore and Coit. Mr. Coit resigned the following 
November. He had been ordained deacon in January 
of 1 85 4. Dr. Coit is now at the head of the excellent St. 
Paul's School for boys near Concord, New Hampshire, 
where a beautiful chapel has been erected for the use of 
the school. Rev. J. C. Eccleston, D. D., succeeded him 



LANXASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 157 

as assistant, in December of this year, and worked 
with zeal. He is now rector of St. John's, Clifton, 
Staten Island, X. Y., (Rosebank P. O.) In 1855, Rev. 
Horatio N. Powers became assistant. Miss Catherine 
Yeates gave a sum as a nucleus for an endowment for 
the support of the minister. The Rev. Dr. W. A. 
Muhlenberg, then in New York, interested himself in 
the effort to pay the debt of the church. Rev. Washing- 
ton B. Erben informs me that he expressed great in- 
interest in the work to him in an interview in New 
York. Rev. J. C. Passmore left a legacy for this church 
and St. James's Orphan Asylum. In 1857, Dr. Bow- 
. man resigned his rectorship. In 1857, Rev. Edward 
W. Appleton was elected assistant minister, while Rev. 
Theodore A. Hopkins was elected rector. The rector 
was Principal of the Yeates Institute, "endowed by 
Miss Yeates." Even after his consecration as bishop in 
1858, Dr. Bowman continued his dear interest in St. 
John's Parish, and gave pecuniary assistance toward 
the building of the rectory. In 1859, Mr. Hopkins re- 
signed, and Mr. Appleton became rector. Rev. Dr. 
Hopkins died in 1889. A Young Ladies' Bible Class, 
under the efficient care of Miss Hetty A. Mayer, was a 
useful adjunct of the parish. In 1861, Dr. Appleton re- 
signed ; he left greatly to the regret of the flock among 
whom he had faithfully ministered. He is now the 
rector of St. Paul's Church, Cheltenham, near Phila- 
delphia, (Ashbourne P. O.) (See Cheltenham in this 
Volume.) 

Rev. Francis D. Hoskins was the successor of Dr. 
Appleton. (See Towanda, in this volume, for notes con- 
cerning him.) In 1861, Rev. Dr. Mombert, rector of 
St. James's Church, supplied the evening services dur- 
ing the vacancy. Bishop Bowman preached his last 



158 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 

sermon in this church on an inclement Sunday evening, 
when but few persons were present. He was thought 
by the hearers never to have preached to them more 
earnestly and eloquently. Mr. Geist walked home with 
him and he earnestly inquired of him concerning the 
welfare of the parish, and hoped that the call, just ex- 
tended, would be accepted. The "good night" at the 
gate of the parsonage were the last words that the 
vestryman ever heard from the lips of the first rector of 
St. John's, now a bishop. In a few days God called the 
good man to Paradise. The church might be said to be 
a memorial of the work of its founder, but a marble 
tablet has been placed in it to perpetuate his memory. 

St. Paul's Mission School was for a time conducted 
by St. John's Parish. It is good for a young church to 
aid in such noble work, and watering others it waters 
itself, according to the Divine promise. During the 
faithful rectorship of Mr. Hoskins, the parish was freed 
from debt, and the vestry passed a resolution thanking 
the mother of the rector, residing in Philadelphia, for 
her aid in a certain effort to this end. She has closed her 
labors for Christ and entered Paradise. On the month of 
Mr. Hoskins's resignation, Rev. Thomas B. Barker was 
called to the rectorship. He was the assistant of Dr. 
Suddards at Grace Church, Philadelphia. The new rec- 
tor came from a working parish, and gave himself up 
freely to parochial duty, and was successful in his work, 
and beloved by his people. In 1864, the faithful warden, 
James L. Youngman, who had often represented the 
church in the Diocesan Convention, fell asleep in Christ, 
In 1871, the church was thoroughly renovated in the 
rectorship of Mr. Barker. Mr. Isaac Diller, Mr. Geist and 
Mr. Wm. O. Marshall were the committee on repairs. 
When the church was reopened, Rev. Theodore A. 



LANCASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 159 

Hopkins, D. D., of Burlington, Vermont, came several 
hundred miles to visit his former parishioners, and 
preached three sermons on that day. He was a son of 
Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont. 

About this time the grounds of the rectory were en- 
larged by a gift of the senior warden. Mr. Geist notes 
the fact that St. John's has been blessed with excellent 
rectors, and that the people have highly estimated them, 
and have also been ready to give freely, according to 
their means for the needs of the church. The first bap- 
tism in the church was that of Alonzo Potter Diller, 
who was baptized on the day of the consecration of the 
church by Bishop Potter. In the early days of the 
church, Miss Mary Bowman, the rector's sister, and 
Miss Ellen Bowman, the rector's daughter, and Miss 
Benjamin were helpful in raising funds for its support, 
Miss Ellen Bowman is now the widow of Bishop Vail, 
of Kansas. She, and Mr. J. Yeates Conyngham have 
added to the endowment fund started by Miss Yeates. 
Such beginnings are most important as leading the way 
and suggesting action to others. Charles Wheeler, and 
"other friends of free churches" added their offerings 
to the endowment. 

REV. H. N. POWERS, D. D. 

The following is extracted from a newspaper article : 
The Rev. Horatio Nelson Powers died on the 6th of 
September, 1890, in Pierpont, New York. He was 
assistant minister to the rector Dr, Bowman, of St John's 
Episcopal Church, this city, from 1855, to 1857, where 
he labored with great acceptability, giving promise of 
the distinction he subsequently reached as an accom- 
plished writer and impressive pulpit orator. While 
here he married Miss Clemence Emma Gourad. 



160 LANCASTER (c.) ST. JOHN'S FREE CHURCH. 

Dr. Powers was born in Amenia, New York, in 1826. 
He was graduated from Union College, in 1850. He 
attended the Theological Seminary of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in New York, and was ordained a 
deacon in Trinity Church. From Lancaster, he went 
to Davenport, Iowa, as rector of St. Luke's Church, 
and was afterwards president of Griswold College till 
1868. He was rector of St. John's Church, Chicago, 
from 1868 to 1874, and was one of the sufferers by the 
great Chicago fire, not only his church but his dwelling 
with all his household goods being lost. His old parish 
in Lancaster showed their appreciation of the work he 
had done among them by sending him a liberal contri- 
bution towards repairing his personal loss. He received 
the degree of D. D. from Union College. 

In 1874 Dr. Powers located in Bridgeport, Connecti- 
cut, where he officiated as rector of Christ Church until 
1 886. He subsequently spent some time in Europe. Dr. 
Powers was a man of fine literary tastes, well known as an 
author and poet. Among his most notable writings are 
''Through the Year," "Poems Early and Late," "Ten 
Years of Song," and a biograghy of Wm. Cullen Bryant. 

REV. THOMAS B. BARKER 

was born in Kingston, Wyoming Valley, Pa. After 
receiving an academic education, he taught several 
years. At the opening of the Mansfield Classical Semi- 
nary, Tioga County, Pa., he became a professor of that 
institution, and remained there until that beautiful build- 
ing was destroyed by fire. He was ordained deacon by 
Bishop Alonzo Potter, was advanced to the priesthood 
by Bishop Stevens, in 1864. He entered upon the rec- 
torship of St. John's Free Church in 1864, and was the 
acceptable rector of that parish seventeen years. 



LEBANON (C.) ST. LUKE'S. 161 

In 1 88 1, Rev. Charles N. Spalding, of Wheeling, W. 
Va., who was doing missionary work in that diocese, 
became rector. During his rectorship the remodeling 
and enlargement of the church edifice was consummated. 
He resigned in 1884, to engage in church educational 
w r ork at Lima, Indiana, where he still labors. He was 
succeeded by the present rector, Rev. J. Edward Pratt. 
During his rectorship, a fine Roosevelt organ, donated 
By Dr. Thomas Ellmaker, as a memorial to his mother, 
was placed in the church. 

The Rev. J. Edward Pratt was elected rector of St. 
John's Church in 1884. He is a New Englander by birth 
and education, and studied theology at the Berkeley 
Divinity School, Middletown, Connecticut. He was 
ordained deacon by the Right Rev. John Williams, 
D. D., L.L.D., in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Mid- 
dletown, in 1867, and advanced to the priesthood by the 
same bishop in St. Paul's Church, Hartford, the same 
year. After serving the church in Connecticut for about 
six years, his last charge being that of Christ Church, 
Ansonia, be removed to Central New York, in 1873, 
and became rector of Trinity Church, Syracuse, which 
position he held until 1879. From that date until his. 
removal to Lancaster, in 1884, he was rector of Trinity 
Church, Lowville, in the same diocese. 

lebanon (c.) st. luke's j and hope church, mount hope j 
and st. Paul's manheim ; and st. mark's, 

JONESTOW r N. 
BY REV. ALFRED M. ABEL. 

Mrs. Harriet A. Grubb, than a communicant of St. 
Luke's Church, Philadelphia, in 1849, built a church at 
Mount Hope Furnace, Lancaster County, the estate of 
her late husband. The church was consecrated by 



I 62 LEBANON (C.) ST. LUKE'S. 

Bishop Alonzo Potter, under the name of "Hope Church, 
Mount Hope," on the 9th of October, 1849. The Rev. 
Daniel Washburn supplied the church, at Mount Hope 
with services until January, 1850, and was succeeded by 
Rev. George H. Walsh. The Rev. Dr. Howe, of St. 
Luke's Church, Philadelphia, held services, and baptized 
several children, on June 21st, 1855, and services were 
supplied under the direction of Bishop Potter, during 
the summers of 1855 and 1856, by Alfred M. Abel, a 
candidate for orders from St. Luke's Church, Phila- 
delphia. 

Mr. Abel having been ordained to the diaconate, on 
Trinity Sunday, 1857, was sent by Bishop Potter to 
Mount Hope Church, with instructions to break ground, 
if possible, for church services, in Lebanon, ten miles to 
the north of Mount Hope. The first service in Lebanon 
was not held until November Sth, 1857. Regular 
services were also be^un at Colebrook Furnace, eight 
miles from Mount Hope, on Sunday, November 15th, 
1857, and continued at all three places, until July 1st, 
187 1, when the rectorship of Mount Hope Church was 
resigned to Rev. W. S. Heaton, Colebrook Furnace 
mission being still attached to Lebanon. 

In 1867, Mr. J. Brinton White, a layman in the employ 
of the Reading and Columbia Railroad Company, re- 
moved with his family to Manheim, and soon there- 
after started a Sunday-school in a vacant chapel, which 
he rented for that purpose ; in which also he, with the 
assistance of neighboring clergy, and by his own lay 
reading, maintained the services of the church on Sun- 
days and week-days. Rev. Mr. Abel held several 
services in this building, and afterwards in a hired hall. 
By the exertions of Mr. White, a pretty wooden Gothic 
chapel was built, the corner-stone being laid by Rev, A. 



LEBANON (C.) ST. LUKE'S. I 63 

M. Abel, assisted by Rev. Thomas B. Barker, of Lan- 
caster, on October 29th, 1869. The church was conse- 
crated by Rev. Wm. Bacon Stevens, D. D., on Tues- 
day, May 3d, 1870, as St. Paul's Church, Manheim, in 
the presence of a large number of the clergy of the 
Schuylkill and Lehigh Convocation, and on the same 
day he confirmed five persons, presented by Rev. Mr. 
Abel, who acted as rector of the church, until, and at 
the time of the consecration of the building. Rev. Aaron 
Bernstein, a deacon, took charge of St. Paul's Church, 
Manheim, in July, 1S70, and continued in charge until 
February 1st, 1871, and was succeeded by the Rev. W. 
S. Heaton. 

The first service in Lebanon was held on the 2 2d 
Sunday after Trinity, November 8th, 1857, in a private 
house. After three services here, they were held in a 
public hall, and continued so to be held in various pub- 
lic halls, hired for the purpose, until October 21st, 1863, 
when the chapel of St. Luke's Church, Lebanon, was 
consecrated by Bishop Alonzo Potter, Rev. M. A. De- 
Wolfe Howe, D. D., of St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia, 
preaching the sermon, and in the evening of the same 
day, eight persons were confirmed by Bishop Stevens, 
the whole number of communicants previously reported 
(in May, 1863,) being sixteen. 

The parish in Lebanon was organized on August 16th, 
1858, under the name of "Christ Church, Lebanon," 
which name was afterwards changed to St. Luke's. A 
parsonage was built on the lot adjoining that reserved 
for the church in the summer and fall of 1867, but was 
not occupied till the summer of 1868, Mr. Abel being 
absent during the winter of 1867-68, in Florida. Mr. 
Abel continued in charge of St. Luke's Church, Leba- 
non, until January 27th, 1878. During the years 1876- 



164 LEBANON (C.) ST. LUKE'S. 

1878, various services were held by Mr. Abel in Jones- 
town, at the instance of Mr. E. J. Koons, a Lutheran 
clergyman in charge of "Heilman Hall," a boarding 
school for boys. Mr. Koons, and a number of the resi- 
dents of Jonestown, having been confirmed in the church, 
an ''organized mission" was formed here under direc- 
tion of Bishop Howe, with the name of "St. Mark's." 

Rev. Mr. Abel resigned the charge of St. Luke's 
Church, Lebanon, on Sunday, January 27th, 1878, and 
removed to Olympia, Washington Territory, to take 
charge of St. John's Church, in that city, and of St. 
Peter's Church, Tacoma. St. Luke's Church, New 
Tacoma, was organized under direction of Rt. Rev. B. 
Wistar Morris, Bishop of Oregon and Washington, on 
Tuesday, June nth, 1878, and Rev. Chandler Hare 
became rector of St. Luke's Church, Lebanon, in April, 
1878. 

Mr. Abel remained in charge of these churches until 
August, 1881, when he returned to Lebanon County, to 
take charge of the " Church Home for Children," opened 
in December of that year, in the building formerly known 
as "Heilman Hall," which had been bought by Mrs. 
William Coleman, of Cornwall, and deeded to the bishop 
for that purpose. The charge of St. Mark's Chapel, 
Jonestown, built by the efforts of Rev. E. J. Koons, in 
1878, was also assumed by Mr. Abel. 

Mr. Hare continues as rector of St. Luke's Church, 
Lebanon, at this date, October 1890, a large and beauti- 
ful stone church having been built alongside of the origi- 
nal chapel, and a well appointed and beautiful stone 
chapel, "Trinity Chapel, West Lebanon," having been 
consecrated by Rt. Rev. N. S. Rulison, D. D.,on Thurs- 
day, June 5th, 1890, in one of the suburbs of Lebanon, 
large parish school buildings have been built here, 



MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 1 65 

through the generosity of Robert H. Coleman, arjd a 
Hospital established, for which a building has been 
bought. Mr. Abel also continues in charge of the 
Church Home at Jonestown, which now numbers 30 
children, and of St. Mark's Chapel. 

Rev. E. J. Koons, for some time rector of St. Mark's, 
died May 1st, 1890. 

Services are also continued at the old Colebrook Fur- 
naces, supplied from Lebanon, by the assistant in charge 
of Trinity Chapel. 

The author of this volume adds that Mr. Abel was 
born in Buffalo, New York, in 1834, ordained deacon in 
St. Luke's, Philadelphia, in 1857, an d priest by Bishop 
Bowman, in St. Andrew's, Philadelphia, in 1859. 

Rev. Chandler Hare, grandson of Bishop Hobart, 
of New York, great-grandson of Dr. ..Chandler, of 
Elizabethtown, N. J,, was born in Princeton, N. J., in 
1840. He attended the Episcopal Academy and the 
University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia School 
for Training Candidates for the Ministry. When a dea- 
con he was a missionary among the mountaineers near 
Fishkill, N. Y., and organized a parish at Low Point, 
N. Y. Was for some years rector at Pittston, Pa., and 
at Tamaqua, Pa. Mr. Hare was for a time archdeacon 
in Central Pennsylvania, but lately resigned the office, 
owing to ill health, and is now in Europe in the hope of 
recovery. 

MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

Manayunk was not in Philadelphia when the church 
was founded, and we claim it as a country parish. The 
Rev. Charles Logan, the present rector of this church, 
read a sermon in the chapel on December 3d, 1881, at 
the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the parish, 



1 66 MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

which he has loaned me as a basis f:>r this sketch. The 
new church was not quite completed at that date. It 
now stands in its glory overtopping the town like an 
English Cathedral, and dispensing its blessings around. 
It is a brown stone building of magnificent proportions, 
and dignified architecture making a beautiful picture 
for the beholder. 

The memorial service was appointed by the rector to 
praise God for the past, and to pray his grace for the 
future. 

The founder of this parish was Rev. Robert Davis. 
He was a man of scholarship, and had ''published Eng- 
lish translations of some of the ancient Fathers." He 
had been rector of a church in Reading, but poor health 
compelled him to resign the parish. He, however, 
sought new points "to establish the church, and the 
Epiphany, Philadelphia, and St. David's, Manayunk, 
are results of his efforts." "In the Fall of 1S31" he 
started the work of church organization in Manayunk, 
though dissuaded from the attempt by one who thought 
he could not succeed. He canvassed all the dwellings 
of the suburban village, and found nearly three hundred 
who had been reared in the church. 

Mr. Davis summoned those interested to the Academy 
one evening, and the organization was effected. The 
new vestrymen were zealous and earnest. It is conjec- 
tured that the name of the church may have been "that 
of an English Parish Church to which one or more of 
the members of the first vestry had been attached in 
early life." In 1832, a part of the present church ground 
was bought. The corner-stone of the church was laid 
this year, "on the Second of August." Bishop Onder- 
donk officiated. He was then Assistant Bishop of 
Pennsylvania, Bishop White being the bishop of the 



MAXAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 167 

diocese. The vestry had difficulties in erecting the new 
church, but met them nobly, pledging themselves for re- 
quired funds as the calls were renewed. The Advance- 
ment Society gave its friendly aid in assisting in remu- 
nerating the clergymen. Rev. Christian F. Cruse be- 
came the missionary of the society in Manayunk. I 
recollect this good man as the scholarly librarian of the 
General Theological Seminary in New York. He trans- 
lated the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius into Eng- 
lish. He was a special friend of Dr. Muhlenberg*, and 
died at St. Luke's Hospital, which was Dr. Muhlenberg's 
home, under the loving care of that saintly man. 

On May ist, A. D. 1835, the church was consecrated 
to the service of God by the assistant bishop, assisted by 
the missionary in charge of the parish, and several 
Philadelphia clergymen, and Rev. Dr. Rodney, of St. 
Luke's Church, Germantown. 

The consecration was accepted by God in the blessed 
effects of the ministry of consolation in those sacred 
walls where souls were comforted and fed with "the 
bread of life," and learned to find a foretaste of heaven 
on earth. Prayer and praise and the Holy Sacraments 
made the place indeed "the gate of heaven" to many a 
weary soul. In 1835, Rev. Frederick Freeman suc- 
ceeded Mr. Cruse. This rector was well esteemed, and 
was successful in his sacred work. In 1836 he published 
a book with the title "Psalmodia." It was dedicated to 
the choir and congregation of St. David's. Rev. George 
A. Latimer presented a copy to Mr. Logan. 

In 1839, Rev. Mr. Jansen became rector. He taught 
school in addition to his parochial duties, at least for a 
time. He resigned in April, 1843. About five months 
afterward, the Rev. Mr. Prior entered on the rectorship. 
These early years were naturally full of care and struggle 



1 68 MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

in founding the parish, but the people manfully met 
their responsibilities and advanced in prayer and hope 
overcoming difficulties by faith in God. They counted 
the cost, and expected obstacles, and so faced them 
bravely. 

In 1848, Rev. Milton C. Lightner accepted the rector- 
ship of the parish. The debt on the property was paid. 
A movement was made to obtain a Sunday-school build- 
ing. There were larger congregations. In 1850 Mr. 
Lightner resigned. 

The Rev. Peter B. Lightner, rector of New Castle, 
Delaware, has prepared at my request an interesting ac- 
count of the life of his father, which gives me data for 
the following notes : 

Milton C. Lightner was born at Leacock, Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, on St. Matthew's Day, September 
21st, 1820. He died July 2d, 1880, in San Francisco, 
and was buried in Woodmere Cemetery, in Detroit, 
where his widow and several children reside. The 
mother of Mr. Lightner died in his early childhood, and 
he was placed at school at Gambier, Ohio. In 1839 he 
was graduated atKenyon College. His fellow students 
describe him as promising and of an endearing character. 
Ex-President Hayes, Stanley Matthews and Rev. Dr. 
French were his fellow collegians. His zeal and activ- 
ity, and "heroic steadfastness/' and magnetic power in 
bringing men to Christ may find their source in the sur- 
render made of self to God when eighteen years of age. 
In 1842, he graduated at the General Theological Semi- 
nary, in New York. He was intimate with the noble 
missionary Breck, and wished to join him in his heroic 
Western work, but he remained in the East to assist the 
future Bishop Whittingham, then rector of the Church 
of the Annunciation, in New York. He was ordained 



MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 1 69 

deacon by Bishop Onderdonk, in 1842, and took charge 
of Christ Church, Danville, Pennsylvania. In 1846, 
Bishop Alonzo Potter ordained him to the priesthood. 
In 1845, h e married Martha Hurley, oldest daughter of 
Peter Baldy. In 1850, he entered on the rectorship of 
Christ Church, Reading. He had led a useful life in 
Danville, but in 1848 had assumed the rectorship of St. 
David's Church, Manayunk, Philadelphia. He left 
pleasant associations and entered on his successful work 
at Reading, according to the wish of Bishop Potter. 
His people loved him, and the church progressed. The 
son remembers these Reading days with strong appre- 
ciation of the true friends of the rector and his- family in 
that parish. The convocations and other clerical meet- 
ings with their hearty fellowship, are lovingly noted in 
the manuscript before me. The clerical names of Leaf, 
Russell, Prior and Washburn are on the page. The 
old church was striking with its dim religious light 
within, but the exterior was very plain. Xow the stone 
front is imposing, and the spire adds dignity. An 
earnest rector, and a devoted people caused an advance 
in church life. St. Barnabas's Church grew out of the 
street preaching of the rector on Sunday afternoons. 
The scenes at such times were very impressive, and the 
prospect of the chapel was full of promise. There were 
also frequent services at the County Prison. The young 
element were the spiritual children of the rector, and 
gladly followed his leading. 

In 1861, Mr. Lightner became the successful rector of 
Christ Church, Binghamton, New York, and in 1863 he 
succeeded Bishop McCoskry as rector of St. Paul's 
Church, Detroit. Here his accustomed zeal and devo- 
tion to duty were manifest. In 1865, he was a member 
of the General Convention in Philadelphia, and was 
12 



170 MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

nominated by Bishop Whittingham, in the House of 
Bishops, as Missionary Bishop of Colorado, and the 
House of Bishops concurred, but the House of Deputies 
failed, by a few votes, of agreeing with the Upper House. 
He was rector at Lock Haven, Pa., from 1875 to 1878. 
He is remembered affectionately there for his Christlike 
work. In 1878-79, he spent another year at Bingham- 
ton. In the last named year he went to visit his sister in 
San Francisco. He became rector of St. Peter's Church, 
in that city. His short rectorship was very successful, 
though he wrought in the pain of bodily disease that he 
might work out his task while his day lasted, as the night 
was approaching when earthly work ceases. In 1880 he 
died in the arms of his son, William Hurley, who had 
gone to him to bring him back to his family. " His soul 
returned to the God who gave it, and to whose service 
he had surrendered himself through his pilgrimage, body, 
soul and spirit." The early life of this man of God was 
a radiant one, and many who felt its loving influences 
testify of its good effect on them. The burial of Mr. 
Lightner was an impressive one. It was a sultry day in 
July. A severe storm scattered the funeral procession 
before the "great concourse of people" had reached the 
cemetery. "Gentle showers" fell on the faithful few 
who surrounded the grave, illustrating the gentle life of 
the departed, and " the glories of the setting sun, and 
the presence of an unrivaled rainbow, which closed the 
scene, were eloquent beyond all description, of the 
promise which had become his, and the blissful life 
which had now begun." 

The author of this volume recollects with pleasure the 
bright and cheerful character of this distinguished man, 
and specially his striking oratorical power, as displayed 
in an address at the funeral of the patriarch of the church, 



MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 171 

Rev. Dr. Bull, at St. Mary's Church, Warwick, Chester 
County, Pa., where the worthy clergyman being laid to 
rest had so long labored with faithful zeal. 

Rev. B. W. Morris succeeded Mr. Lightner. He had 
the energy and vigor of youth, and wrought faithfully 
as the successor of an active clergyman, in a promising 
field. A lot adjoining the church, on which the present 
parish building stands, was bought, and a Sunday- 
school building was erected upon it at considerable ex- 
pense. The enlargement of the church was contem- 
plated. The parish was coming to a period when it 
might also be able to help others outside of its bounds. 

In 1857, Rev. J. W. Claxton succeeded Mr. Morris. 
He was a man of ability and active in work, and con- 
tinued the good projects of Bishop Morris and perfected 
them. The church was enlarged. The financial panic 
of 1857 came, but the work went forward. The Sunday- 
school had been enlivened by Rev. Messrs. Lightner 
and Morris, and Mr. Claxton gave it much attention. 
"A room for the infant school" was added to the Sun- 
day-school building. A Sunday-school was opened on 
the Ridge Road and a piece of ground purchased, and a 
building erected for this mission, of which "a clergy- 
man was placed in charge." In 1862, this became a 
parish by itself. It is now St. Alban's Church. Rev. 
Charles S. Lyons is rector. 

Mr. Claxton's rectorship "was full of great and good 
works." 

Mr. Quick succeeded Mr. Claxton. He was succeed- 
ed in turn by Rev. F. H. Bushnell, who found the people 
ready to meet his work. He was well adapted for his 
post. A rectory was secured and furnished. The debt 
on the new Sunday-school lot was paid. The church 
was repaired and improved, and new windows and an 



172 MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

organ were provided. The church lot was fenced and 
drained at great expense. A lot was obtained for the 
chapel on Terrace Street. The chapel was erected and 
a roof placed on it, and "plans w r ere made for the erect- 
ion of a new Sunday-school and parish building," 
which was built. In 1874, Mr. Bushnell resigned, "after 
a long, faithful and most successful incumbency." He 
left the parish in good condition for his successor, who 
acknowledges the benefit. 

Rev. Charles Logan entered on his duties in 1875 an< ^ 
is still rector. He began his work on Easter Sunday, 
and found a people ready for good works. The debt 
on the chapel w r as removed, and money raised to com- 
plete it for Sunday-school use and afternoon services. 
In 1876, services began there. In 18S0, on St. Matthew's 
Day, it "was opened for the full services of a well-regu- 
lated parish." The chapel, with its Sunday-school, and 
well attended services, has grown into St. Stephen's 
separate parish, and is a free church, under Rev. C. R. 
Bonnell, the zealous advocate of the primitive system of 
free churches, and of the Christian tithe to support the 
gospel. (Mr. Bonnell died while this book was being 
printed. His life was a patient and loving service of 
Christ.) The landed property has been enlarged, and 
since Mr. Logan's sermon was written a parish building 
has been added. 

In 1876, the old Sunday-school building at St David's 
was removed, and the corner-stone of the present beauti- 
ful and commodious Sunday-school and parish building 
was laid by the bishop of the diocese, on June 17th. It 
was opened on the following Thanksgiving Day. 

In 1879, the church edifice was burned, but the same 
month the vestry resolved to erect a larger one. The 
new church cost between forty and fiity thousand dollars. 



MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 173 

The rector, in closing, naturally urges a people who 
have been generous and zealous in good works to 
greater activity in the opportunities arising of influenc- 
ing more for good in the expected opening of the new 
large church. It is but proper to add that Mr. Orlando 
Crease, who has a general interest in the church work 
of the city, generously aided the construction of the 
Sunday-school building and the church, and the author 
of this book wishes that every parish had men of like 
mind, who could and would advance the work of the 
church of Christ, considering such pleasant tasks a part 
of their life-work, in the short term lent us for the pur- 
pose of preparing ourselves and our fellow men for a 
higher state, and not for selfish gratification or idle show. 

In going thus beyond the sermon I wish to add that 
Mr. Logan was born in Ireland, in 1839. He came to 
this land when eleven years of age, and received his 
education in the Episcopal Academy, of Philadelphia, 
and Kenyon College, at Gambier, Ohio, and the Phila- 
delphia Divinity School. He was ordained deacon by 
Bishop Potter, in the Church of the Nativity, in Phila- 
delphia, May 1st, 1864, and priest by Bishop Vail, in 
Grace Church, Philadelphia, on Trinity Sunday, May 
27th, A. D. i860. He was rector of St. John's Church, 
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, for twelve years, or 
rather during one of these years, he was lay-reader in 
charge. This was his only rectorship previous to his 
entering on his present cure, where he has had the 
pleasure of seeing the fruit of his labors in the construc- 
tion of a noble church for the ceaseless conducting of 
Christian worship to the honor and glory of Almighty 
God, and the salvation of men, who find in these sacred 
courts means to apply to their sinful souls "the benefits 
of Christ's death." 



174 MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA (pA.) ST. DAVID'S. ' 
THE RT. REV. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS, D. D. 

Second missionary bishop of Oregon, was born in 
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, May 30th, 1819. Graduated 
from General Theological Seminary, New York, 1846. 
Ordered deacon, June 28th, 1846. Ordained priest, 
April 27, 1847. Rector of St. Matthew's, Sunbury, 
Pennsylvania, four years, after which he became rector 
of St. David's, Manayunk, where he remained six years, 
when he became assistant minister of St. Luke's, Ger- 
mantown, where he remained until his elevation to the 
Episcopate. Received degree of S. T. D. from Colum- 
bia, New York, and that of D. D. from University of 
Pennsylvania, 1868. Consecrated missionary bishop of 
Oregon and Washington Territory, in St. Luke's, Phila- 
delphia, December 3d, 186S, by Bishops Lee, of Dela- 
ware ; Odenheimer, of New Jersey ; Vail, of Kansas ; 
Clarkson, of Nebraska ; Randall, of Colorado, and Ker- 
foot, of Pittsburg. 

In 18S0, his jurisdiction was divided; Washington 
Territory becoming a separate jurisdiction, and Bishop 
Morris remaining in charge of Oregon. 

[Living Church Annual Quarterly, 1886.] 

The Rev. Francis Hayden Bushnell was born in Nor- 
wich, Connecticut, and educated at Trinity College, 
Hartford, and Berkeley Divinity School. Bishop Brownell 
ordained him to the diaconate and Bishop Smith to the 
priesthood. He assisted Dr. Craik in Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, in Christ Church, and was afterward rector of 
Grace Church. He was at one time General Agent of 
the Board of Missions of the diocese of Pennsylvania. 
He is now rector of the Church of the Messiah, South 
Broad Street, Philadelphia. For a time he held the 
rectorship of Christ Church, Ridley Park, with this 



MARCUS HOOK (PA.) ST. MARTIN'S. I 75 

parish, and the church, there was built under his 
rectorship, and St. Stephen's, Mahayunk, was erected 
while he was rector oi St. David's. 

MARCUS HOOK (PA.) ST. MARTIN'S. 

The Chester Republican of June 2d, 1876, contained a 
sketch of this historic parish from the pen of Captain 
Franklin Smith, who was long interested in its affairs. 
He was a retired sea captain. The Rev. Gustavus C. 
Bird, the present rector, has placed the narrative in my 
hands. Walter Martin, "yeoman" of Upper Chichester 
township gave ground "to the inhabitants of the town 
and township of Chichester," in 1699, " for a churchyard 
and free burying place." When Penn summoned a 
general assembly at Chester, in 1682, Hazard's Annals 
names Mr. Martin as one of the assemblymen. The 
church people secured the ground by erecting a church 
on it, as the body that did this was to have possession. 
They bought a frame house of Jan and Tobias Hendrick- 
son, and moved it upon the lot. The building was pre- 
pared for worship. This occurred in 1702. The same 
year the English Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts, sent Henry Nichols to this place as mis- 
sionary. Several years after Rev. George Ross suc- 
ceeded him. In 1724, Rev. John Humphries assumed 
charge of the mission, which he retained five years. 
Walter Martin died in 1719, and the vestry in later years 
had his gravestones relettered. He was once port 
warden of Marcus Hook. 

John Flowers was the first warden of the church. His 
descendants have worshiped in the church and sleep 
in its graveyard.* Watson's Annals states that Emanuel 
Grubb was the first son born to English parents after 
the Penn grant in Delaware. He is said to have been 



176 MAUCH CHUNK (c.) ST. MARK'S 

born in a cave or rudely constructed abode at Grubb's 
Landing, in Brandywine Hundred, on the Delaware 
"about three miles below Marcus Hook." He was a 
vestryman in 1725, and his descendants were worshipers 
and aiders of the church for generations. In 1745, a new 
church was built, but this brick building was taken 
down, and the present brick church erected in 1846. In 
1725, Jeremiah Collett left a legacy for the support of 
the minister. In 1730, Rev. Richard Backhouse suc- 
ceeded Mr. Humphries. After 1738 the Swedish clergy- 
men, Rev. Israel Acrelius, the historian, who lived in 
Wilmington ; Rev. John i\braham Lidenius, and Rev. 
Eric Unander, succeeded each other in the work. In 
1759, Rev. George Craig was the missionary of the Pro- 
pagation Society. There is a break in the records dur- 
ing the Revolution, but, in 1 783, this rector was presiding 
at the Easter meeting, and appointing his warden. He is 
buried under the church, and the tombstone is in the floor. 
He died several years after the meeting mentioned, but 
is not named in the records after that date. The name 
St. Martin commemorates Walter Martin. In 1S17, 
Rev. Jacob M. Douglass became rector. In later years 
Dr. Clemson and Mr. Hickman, whose earnest work 
was soon closed by death, and the faithful Mr. Stone, 
and the present rector, Mr. Bird, have continued the 
good work of Christ begun in an early day. The 
Trainers, and Johnsons, and Marshalls, and Eyres and 
other lay people in modern days have aided the rector's 
work. The history of Chester in this book gives a further 
account of the missionaries. 

MAUCH CHUNK (c.) ST. MARK'S. 
BY BISHOP COLEMAX. 

Very few localities in the United States are more pic- 
turesque and interesting than the Lehigh Valley. There 



MAUCH CHUNK (c.) ST. MARK'S. 177 

is no more typical town in that region than Mauch 
Chunk. And there is no feature in the town which 
more generally arrests the traveler's attention than St. 
Mark's Church. None of the many pictures which are 
to be seen of what is well called "the Switzerland of 
America," are complete unless they contain a view of 
this sacred edifice. It occupies a most commanding site, 
and the beauty, both of its exterior and interior, will 
amply repay close inspection. 

The history of the parish is replete with interest. It 
owed its origin chiefly, under God, to the loyal devotion 
and discreet advocacy of a sturdy layman, William H. 
Sayre, who for many years acted as a lay reader in what 
for a long time appeared to be a very discouraging field. 
Occasional services were held by various clergymen, and 
eventually the Rev. Peter Russell became the rector. 
His godliness of life and zealous labors did much to build 
up this infant parish and in other places to lay the found- 
ations of what have since become strong congregations. 

A plain but substantial church-building was erected, 
and in the year 1S52 was consecrated. This gave place 
to the stately and costly edifice (completed and conse- 
crated in 1S69) which has become so well known, chiefly 
through the magnificent memorials of the Hon. Asa 
Packer and his family, to whom the whole diocese and 
the church at large is so greatly indebted for munificent 
gifts and kindly deeds. 

A handsome and complete parish building adjoins the 
church, and is constantly in use for the many objects 
which are being furthered by the diligent rector and his 
devoted people. The Sunday-Schools have obtained an 
enviable reputation for their knowledge and understand- 
ing of the Bible and Prayer Book. In East Mauch 
Chunk, a comely stone chapel was erected. 



178 MEADVILLE (p.) CHRIST. 

In addition to services there, many other places have 
from time to time been ministered unto from Mauch 
Chunk, most of which are now themselves self-support- 
ing and centres of missionary work. Several points in 
the vicinity are at present occupied, and afford much en- 
couragement to those who labor there. 

The Rev. Peter Russell was succeeded in the rector- 
ship by the Rev. Hurley Baldy, the Rev. Edward M. 
Pecke, the Rev. Leighton Coleman, and by the present 
incumbent, the Rev. Marcus A. Tolman. 

The congregation have always been characterized by 
a loyal devotion to the church, and a generous support 
of their rectors in everything that was projected for her 
welfare, whether far or near. Only a few, comparatively, 
of the original bands of workers, are still living, but 
their places have been filled by the younger members of 
their families, who in zeal and constancy and in kindliness 
are faithfully maintaining the beneficent work no less 
than the honorable traditions of a parish which, accord- 
ing to its opportunities, may fairly be ranked among the 
foremost in Pennsylvania. 

The author of this work closes the bishop's sketch by 
remarking, that the new church and the mission work 
were largely due to his wise zeal. 

MEADVILLE (p.) CHRIST. 
(communicated) . 

This parish was organized in 1825 by Rev. Dr. John 
Henry Hopkins, rector of Trinity Church, Pittsburg, 
afterwards Bishop of Vermont. The Hon. John B. 
Wallace had before come from Philadelphia to the vil- 
lage of Meadville, and was a leading lawyer here. He 
had been reared and educated a devoted Episcopalian, 
and feeling the need of church services, persuaded Dr. 






r-^ 











SS^ESIl^ 



CHRIST CHURCH, MEADVILLE. 



MEADVILLE (p.) CHRIST. I 79 

Hopkins to pay a visit to this place to inaugurate the 
good work. Dr. Hopkins remained here for a time, 
during which he baptized thirty-two adults and forty- 
three children. 

In 1826, Rev. Charles Smith was appointed rector of 
the newly organized congregation. In the same year, 
the erection of a church building was determined upon, 
and in 1827 the corner-stone was laid by the rector, 
assisted by the Rev. Benjamin Hutchins. 

On the 1 6th of August, 1828, the church, which stood 
on the northwest corner of the public square, was con- 
secrated to the worship of Almighty God by Bishop 
Onderdonk. This was the first Protestant Episcopal 
Church erected in the State West of the Allegheny river. 
It was said to be in point of architecture the handsomest 
church building in the diocese. 

Of the leading members of the parish at that time 
mention may be made of Judge Henry Shippen, William 
Magaw, the father of Mr. Leon C. Magaw, of this city ; 
Jared Shattuck, David Dick, the uncle of the members of 
the present firm of J. R. Dick & Co. ; and Robert L. Potter, 
all leading citizens of the place. The building was en- 
larged in 1832, and again in 1863, under the rectorship 
of Rev. Marison Byllesby. It thus remained until 1883, 
when it was torn down, and the present beautiful church 
was erected on the original site. 

Rectors: Rev. Charles Smith, until 1829; the Rev. 
J. W. James, until 1832 ; Rev. Edward Y. Buchanan, 
until 1834; Rev. Thomas Crumpton, until 1840, who is 
now residing in Pittsburg ; Rev. John P. Hosmer, until 
1841 ; Rev. Orrin Miller, until 1844; Rev. Alexander 
Varian, until 1846 ; Rev. Dr. Wm. M. Carmichael, until 
1850; Rev. Alexander Varian, again until 1858; Rev 
R. W. Lewis, until 1859; Rev. Marison Byllesby, until 



180 MEADVILLE (p.) CHRIST. 

1869; Rev. George C. Rafter, until 1870; Rev. W. G. v 
W. Lewis, until 1875 \ R ev - Daniel I. Edwards, until 
1878; Rev. G. A. Carstensen, until 1882; Rev. Wm, H. 
Lewis, until 1885. Rev. Rogers Israel is the present 
rector. 

The present beautiful church edifice was built in the 
year 1883, during the rectorship of Rev. W. H. Lewis. 
On Sunday, March 23d, 18S4, the new church was form- 
ally opened for Divine service by Bishop Whitehead, 
assisted by the rector and visiting clergy. 

Upon the parish lot near the church is a neat and com- 
fortable rectory, built in 1878. 

The Sunday-school building, after having been en- 
larged several times to provide for the constantly increas- 
ing wants of the people, has at last been torn down and 
a new parish building of three stories, to be fitted with 
every modern convenience for carrying on the many 
parochial interests, is in process of construction. The 
present church edifice is unquestionably the most '^beau- 
tiful specimen of ecclesiastical architecture in the city of 
Meadville, and both in exterior and interior exhibits the 
refined taste and generous expenditure which is charac- 
teristic of this branch of Christ's holy catholic and apos- 
tolic church. 

Rev. Rogers Israel was born in Baltimore, in 1854, 
and was educated at Dickinson College. 

Christ Church, Meadville, is his first and only parish. 
He went there in 1S85. Ordained deacon Trinity 
Church, Cleveland, Ohio, by Bishop Bedell. He was 
then assisting the Rev. Y. P. Morgan. 

Ordained to the priesthood in Christ Church, Mead- 
ville, Pa., in 1 886, by Bishop Whitehead. 

The parish grows and prospers, as the above narrative 
shows. 



MONTROSE (c.) ST. PAUL'S. iSl 

MONTROSE (C.) ST. PAUL'S. 

(communicated.) 

The first record of any Episcopal service in Montrose 
is found in the local papers of March 30th, 1828. This, 
as were most of the occasional services subsequent 
thereto, was held in the old court house. 

The first Episcopal visitation was made by Bishop 
Onderdonk, in 1829, when J. W. Raynsford, Esq., wife 
and daughter, and John Street and wife, were confirmed. 
These five persons constitute the beginning of St. Paul's 
Church. It is probable that Mr. Raynsford was instru- 
mental in procuring the first services, it being the tradi- 
tion of the parish that he, accidentally becoming 
possessed of a copy of the Book of Common Prayer, 
was led by a study of its contents to the adoption of the 
emblem of the church, "Evangelical Truth and Apostolic 
Order." He was a man of strict integrity and disting- 
uished for remarkable practical gifts, being active in all 
the religious, educational, business, and social interests 
of the community. 

The corner-stone of the first church edifice was laid 
by Bishop Onderdonk, June 2d, 1832, and the building 
consecrated October 27th, in the next year. In 1856, the 
corner-stone of the present substantial structure was 
laid, and the building consecrated by Bishop Potter, 
July 17th, 1857. The first rectory, the house now occu- 
pied by Dr. W. W. Smith, was built on land donated by 
J. W. Raynsford, in 1850. In 1874, the present fine rec- 
tory was built on a spacious lot donated by Mrs. Henry 
Drinker; and three years later the presentSunday-school 
building and chapel on land adjoining the church, the 
plan of which, by a New York architect, was given to 
the parish by Mrs. Theodore Gilman, of the same city. 



182 MONTROSE (c) ST. PAUL'S. 

In Mr. Warriner's rectorship of twenty-one years, one 
hundred and sixty-one have been added to the list of 
communicants. 

The first rector was Rev. Samuel Marks, who was ap- 
pointed resident missionary, in Montrose, in 1831, offi- 
ciating also in New Milford and Springville. He was 
distinguished for his zeal and personal popularity. He 
died at Huron, Ohio, at an advanced age, and while still 
engaged in missionary work. Of the subsequent rectors, 
Rev. Messrs. Peck and Pleasants, there is no record. 
Rev. George P. Hopkins is rector of St. Matthew's 
Church, Pike, Pennsylvania. Rev. John Long, who 
built the first rectory, working on it with his own hands, 
resides in Reading; Rev. D. C. Byllesby resides at 
Media; Rev. R. B. Peet is a rector at Newport, Rhode 
Island; Rev. Wm. F. Halsey, under whose rectorship 
the church became self-supporting, died at Radnor, 
Pennsylvania, (see Radnor in this volume for an account 
of him) where he had been rector for many years. Rev. 
George H. Kirkland is rector at New Berlin, New. York. 

Great Bend, New Milford and Springville are treated 
of in Peck's History of Susquehanna County. These 
county histories are often useful as containig facts from 
first sources by those acquainted with the parishes. 

I add a biographical sketch of Rev. E. A. Warriner, 
abridged from the July number of the Magazine of 
Poetry, 1890. 

Mr. Warriner was born in Agawam, Massachusetts, 
in 1829, of old Puritan stock, a farmer's boy, spending 
his early years between the fields in summer, and the 
district school in winter. Later he attended the classi- 
cal school in Springfield, living at home, and crossing 
the river, often with great difficulty and peril from float- 
ing ice, yet never failing to be in his seat at the opening 



NEW CASTLE (p.) TRINITY. I 83 

of school. He entered Yale College in 1850, but was 
compelled by illness to abandon his studies, but gradu- 
ated from Union College in 1855, and in the next year 
was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Massachusetts. 
He taught an academy at Washington, Georgia, for a 
time. A systematic study of the Bible so impressed him 
that he determined to devote his life to the ministry. 
Returning north, he taught the Brainerd Academy, at 
Haddam, Connecticut, and subsequently the Yeates In- 
stitute, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1867, he was 
ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Stevens, and the 
next year to the priesthood. In the following autumn, 
he became rector of St. Paul's Church, Montrose, an 
ideal country parish, located among the hills of Susque- 
hanna county, Pennsylvania. Here, with the exception 
of two years, in which he was rector of Christ Church, 
("Old Swedes"), at Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, he has 
spent all the years of his ministry. 

He loves the surrounding forests and streams in which 
he has found health and inspiration for his literary and 
professional work. 

With the exception of occasional poems written in his 
earlier years, and published in current periodicals, his 
first literary production was "Victor La Tourette." His 
next venture w r as t( Kear," "a poem in six cantos." It 
was warmly received, and in some instances met with 
enthusiastic commendation, as a "real and original 
poem." In 1887, he published his work — intended 
chiefly for distribution among his personal friends — en- 
titled, " I am That I am, The Philosophic Basis of the 
Christian Faith. A Metrical Essay." 

NEW CASTLE (p.) TRINITY. 

Rev. J. D. Herron, the present rector of this church, 



184 NEW CASTLE (p.) TRINITY. 

gave a history of this parish, in the New Castle Courant, 
March 8th, 1890. We draw facts from it. Beginning in 
1843, and for two years Dr. White held divine service 
occasionally in New Castle, as did Rev. Mr. Hilton, of 
Kittanning, in the house of Dr. Andrews. In 1S47, Rev. 
Richard Smith, and Rev. S. T. Lord continued the ser- 
vices. In 1848, the parish was organized. Rev. Richard 
Smith became rector and held services occasionally until 
1849. ^ n l8 53> Rev. Joseph P. Taylor was rector. A 
legacy of Mrs. Andrews was received this year. Mr. 
Taylor lived at New Brighton, and Rev. John A. Bow- 
man had charge of New Castle under his direction. In 
1856, Rev. Wm. Binet became rector. Service was held 
in the court house until the church was finished. In 
1S61, Rev. John H. Ohl, was pastor, but left in 1862, to 
the regret of the parish. Rev. George H. Jenks suc- 
ceeded him, then Rev. Mr. Ives was here for a short 
period. From 1S64 to his death in 1865 Rev. T % H. 
Smythe was rector. He notes the death of Mrs, Letitia 
Hilton, "a devoted and pious member of the church." 
In 1865, Dr. Killikelly, of Kittanning, held the church 
for a time. In 1866, Bishop Kerfoot consecrated the 
church as "his first official act." The present rector 
attended the service and the effect was his entering the 
sacred ministry. This year Rev. Joseph Adderly became 
rector, and in 1S68, Rev. W. S. Haywood succeeded 
him. His short rectorship was very earnest and useful 
in advancing the church. In 1870, Rev. Edmund Rob- 
erts, accepted the rectorship. "He was a man of 
lovely character, and an excellent preacher." In 1S76, 
Rev. Wm. A. Fuller was in charge. He was followed 
by Rev. Dr. White, of Butler. Then E. W. Parker 
became lay-reader for a time. In 1879, New Castle was 
included in St. John's Mission, under Rev. H. G. Wood^ 



NORRISTOWN (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 185 

Rev. J. B. Williams, being a deacon, assisting. In 1882, 
Bishop Whitehead selected the present rector, and the 
people surprised him by naming his candidate first. The 
rector had been an assistant in Trinity parish, New 
York. In 1883, the ladies repaired the church, and Mr. 
Reis gave an organ. Special attention is given to the 
music of the church. 

Rev. Joseph D. Herron was born in Kirtland, Ohio, 
November 4th, 1853, and educated at St. John's School, 
Camden, N. J.; at St. Stephen's College, Annandale, N. 
Y., and the General Theological Seminary, New York; 
was ordained by Bishop Horatio Potter, in 1879 and 
1880. Previous to his present rectorship he was in 
Trinity parish, New York, assisting in St. Augustine's 
chapel. 

NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 

The Rev. Jehu Curtis Clay, D. D., was the first rector 
(elected the second time in 1821) of this parish, accord- 
ing to a list sent me by Rev. Isaac Gibson, the present 
rector. Dr. Clay was elected on the 28th of October, 
A. D., 1814. He resigned in 1816 or 1817. He was the 
assistant of Dr. Collin, at Gloria Dei Church, in 1813. 
(See Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware, p. 65.) 
He held St. Luke's, Germantown, with Norristown. In 
1822 he "again became minister for Upper Merion 
(Christ Church), still holding St. John's, Norristown, 
and St. James's Church, Perkiomen. He also officiated 
every fifth Sunday in the month at Kingsessing (St. 
James's). He continued to fill this station until called, 
in 1831, to the rectorship of Gloria Dei." 

In 181 7, Dr. Clay had charge of the church and the 
academy at Newbern, N. C. In the four succeeding 
years, the church at Hagerstown, Maryland, was under 
x 3 



186 NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 

his care, when his father, Rev. Slator Clay, died, and he 
was called to his church at Perkiomen, and a second 
time to Norristown. His second resignation was in 
1832. Those who remember this godly man will recall 
his quiet dignity and faithful labors. 

The second rector of the church was Rev. Thomas P. 
May. He was elected in 18 18, and died on the 20th of 
September, 181 9, at the early age of 26. Addison May, 
Esq., of West Chester, Pa., sends me the following 
sketch of his brother's life : 

Rev. Thomas Potts May, eldest son of Robert and 
Ruth Potts May, was born at Coventryville, in Coventry 
Township, Chester County, Pa., in 1793. He was edu- 
cated partly in Wilmington, and in part in Chester 
County. His instructor in the latter place was Enoch 
Lewis, a mathematician of much repute. Under Mr. 
Lewis, Mr. May paid much attention to mathematics, in 
which he became quite proficient. At this school, the 
late Judge Townsend Haines was a fellow-pupil and 
intimate friend. He married Sarah McClintock soon 
after attaining his majority. About this time he became 
a member of the Episcopal Church, and then opened a 
classical and mathematical school at Pottstown, Pa. 
His object in so doing was to support himself while 
studying theology. He was ordained deacon by Bishop 
White, A. D. 1817. 

I have understood that he was proposed as rector for 
St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, where my brother, Dr. 
James May, w r as rector many years afterwards. My 
brother Thomas was invited to preach at St. Paul's, in 
reference, perhaps, to being called there. He complied 
with the request. At that time (18 19) the yellow fever 
was prevailing in Philadelphia. He returned to Norris- 
town, either on the day of his preaching at St. Paul's or 



NORRISTOWN (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 187 

the following. Immediately on his return home he was 
attacked by the prevailing fever, of which he died on the 
20th day of September, 1819, and was buried in the 
grounds attached to St. John's Church. 

He left two daughters, one of whom died in after 
years, unmarried. The other married Caleb Pierce. 
Both of them are dead. Their oldest son, Thomas May 
Pierce, established and is still at the head of the leading 
commercial business college in Philadelphia. 

My brother Thomas was a man of strong and active 
intellect, of fine presence and agreeable manner, and 
died amidst the regrets of his rapidly increasing congre- 
gation and of the community in which he lived. 

The Potts Memorial, and Poulson's Advertiser, of 
October 1st, 1819, give accounts of this devoted man of 
God. 

The third rector was the Rev. Bird Wilson. The vet- 
eran local historian, William J. Buck, contributed a 
sketch of this clergyman to "Auge's Biographies of 
Men of Montgomery County," which we will condense. 
Dr. Wilson was the son of James Wilson, born not far 
from St. Andrew's, Scotland, about 1742. The father 
came to Philadelphia in 1766, and was tutor in a college 
in that city, but afterwards was the law-student of John 
Dickinson. He practiced in Reading and Carlisle. He 
was a Congressman, and signed the Declaration of 
Independence. The son was born in Carlisle in 1777, 
and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1792, 
when 15 years old. He became a lawyer in Philadelphia, 
and a judge. He then lived in Norristown, and was 
active in the building of St. John's Church, begun in 
1813 and finished the next year, being the first church 
built there. He was a warden. He studied theology 
under Bishop White, who ordained him deacon in 1819, 



1 88 NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 

and he soon became rector of St. John's and St. Thomas's, 
Whitemarsh, but resigned in 182 1, to become a professor 
in the General Seminary in New York. He was Secre- 
tary of the House of Bishops. He composed the " Life 
of Bishop White," embodying the early history of the 
Episcopal Church in this country. The University of 
Pennsylvania gave him the title " D. D.," and Columbia 
College that of "L.L. D." He died in 1859, aged 8 3 , 
and was buried in Christ Church yard, at Fifth and Arch 
Streets. The sketch draws on Rev. W. W. Bronson's 
" Life of Dr. Wilson " for information. 

The Rev. John Reynolds w^s elected rector December 
17th, 1837, and resigned November 2d, 1838. His 
daughter, Mrs. R. C. Jebb, of St. Peter's Terrace, Cam- 
bridge, England, is the wife of a Cambridge professor. 
She was the widow of General Adam Slemmer, of the 
United States Army. The son of this rector, who bears 
his father's name, John Reynolds, is one of the leading 
officers of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, residing 
at Erie, Pa. 

REV. JOHN REYNOLDS. 

(communicated.) 

Rev. John Reynolds was born in Canterbury, Eng- 
land, September 1st, 1792, was educated in England and 
came to this country about 18 19. He was ordained 
deacon and presbyter by Bishop Meade. In 1822, he 
was rector of a church at Tappahannock, Virginia; in 
1826, at Havre de Grace, thence he was called to St. 
Stephen's Church, Harrisburg, where he buried his first 
wife in 1830. In 1831, he went to St. James's Church, 
Perkiomen, w r here he was married to Eleanor Evans, in 
1832, Rev. Jehu C. Clay officiating. While at Perkiomen 
he was also rector of St. John's Church, Norristown. 



N0RRIST0WX (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 189 

He went to Milford, Delaware, in 1840, having charge 
also of the churches in Milton, Georgetown and Lewes. 

In 1847, he was called to Trinity Church, Carbondale, 
Pennsylvania, thence he went, in 1849, to St. John's 
Church, West Hoboken, New Jersey, and then became 
rector of St. Andrew's, Kent, Connecticut. In 1852, he 
was appointed chaplain in the army, and for several 
years was located at San Diego, California. 

He died in Pottstown, May 13th, 1864, and was buried 
at St. James's Church, Perkiomen. His second wife, 
(Eleanor Evans), died at Erie, Pennsylvania, November 
25th, 1887, and is buried at Perkiomen by the side of 
her husband. It should be added to this communcation 
that Mr. Reynolds was assistant at Christ Church, Upper 
Merion one year. 

Rev. Dr. S. H. Turner wrote an eulogy on this clergy- 
man which was printed. 

The life by Rev. Mr. Bronson is a 1 21110., and con- 
tains a likeness. It is dedicated to the Alumni of the 
General Theological Seminary. Mr. Bronson was an 
inmate of the Doctor's house in his student days. Two 
sermons are added to the life. The book is in the Phila- 
delphia library. 

Mr. Bronson states that Norristown and Whitemarsh 
combined were the only rectorship Dr. Wilson ever 
held. 

The Rev. Nathan Stem, D. D., was elected to the 
rectorship January 21st, 1839, and died November 1st, 
1859. Mrs. Bosbyshell, the wife of the Director of the 
Mint in Philadelphia, is a daughter of this clergyman. 
In Mr. M. Auge's useful volumes of " Biographies of 
Men of Montgomery County," there is a sketch of Dr. 
Stem, which I will abridge. The laborious author well 
introduces his subject with the lines of Montgomery : 



190 N0RRIST0WN (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 

"Servant of God, well done ! 
Rest from thy loved employ." 

Dr. Stem was born in EastNantmeal, Chester County, 
Pennsylvania, in 1804. His parents were Jacob and 
Elizabeth Stem, and his paternal grand-parents were 
Conrad and Mary Stem, who came to this country from 
Germany. His mother's father and mother were John 
and Catharine Kline. 

When ten or twelve years old the boy was baptized 
and confirmed in St. Mary's Church, Warwick, during 
the rectorship of that devoted man of God, Rev. Dr. 
Levi Bull. The future clergyman went to the Theolog- 
ical Seminary, near Alexandria, Virginia, graduating at 
this noble school of the prophets, and home of mission- 
ary zeal in 1826. The Seminary was then in its infancy, 
but Rev. Prof Caleb J. Good of Washington, now Trin- 
ity College, Hartford, Connecticut, had graduated in 
1824. This gentleman lived in West Chester, Pa., in the 
close of his life. Rev. James De Pui, well known in 
Pennsylvania, graduated in 1825, and Rev. George Mint- 
zer, long the rector of St. James's, Perkiomen, was in 
the same class, as well as Rev. Dr. William H. Reese, 
the rector of Christ Church, Upper Merion, and St. 
David's, Radnor: 

Mr. Stem in leaving the Seminary turned his face 
Westward, and was ordained by that brave pioneer mis- 
sionary, Bishop Philander Chase, at Columbus, Ohio. 
He was soon called to two churches -near Delaware, 
Ohio. In 1 83 1, "he was married by their old rector, 
Rev. Dr. Bull, to Miss Sarah May Potts, of Warwick, 
Chester County." 

He moved to Harrisburg, Pa., in 1832, and was rector 
there until his removal to Norristown in 1S39. 

In Dr, Stem's day the church of which he was rector, 



NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 191 

as well as the religious people of the town in general 
were very active in efforts to advance the Christian life. 
The church building of St. John's was improved and 
repaired with the zealous co-operation of the congrega- 
tion. An addition was made in front, ? and the tower was 
erected, and a bell furnished, and the interior beauti- 
fied. 

"Mr. Stem was a man of courtly manners, a very 
comely person, and a fine reader. Few men who did 
not make mere pulpit oratory an exclusive study, were 
more popular with their people and the general public 
than he." The parish prospered under his care, and the 
Bible Society and benevolent and charitable works were 
aided by the church people in conjunction with the 
townspeople. Dr. Stem was a truly evangelical preacher, 
and a strong worker in the cause of the abolition of 
human slavery. He presided at one of the first annual 
meetings of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, in 
1838 or 1839. "The sympathy of the colored race was 
displayed by the large numbers who followed his body 
as sincere mourners" to the grave. Dr. Stem alternat- 
ed with other clergy in Norristowh in holding services 
in the prison on Sunday afternoons. 

"As a preacher, Mr. Stem was terse, argumentative, 
and earnest, never addressing himself to the ear, but 
always with plainness to the judgment and hearts of his 
hearers. His manner of reading the service also, was 
solemn and natural in intonation." Franklin and Mar- 
shall College gave him the title of D. D. 

Some years before he died he was out in a terrible 
snowstorm. The railway train on which he was return- 
ing from Philadelphia to Norristown was blocked. The 
evening was intensely cold and fuel and food were lack- 
ing. Hours were passed in dreary waiting, and then 



192 NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 

the blockaded passengers were forced to walk almost two 
miles in the cold drifting snow to Norristown. Some died 
in a few days as the result of the painful exposure. Dr. 
Stem never recovered from the effects of it, though he 
continued to officiate for a time. In June, 1859, he went 
to Swedesburg, to take the services of Rev. Dr. Reese 
one evening. The church was warm, and he took cold 
in riding back to his home, and "a rapid consumption" 
closed his earthly life, on November 1st, of the same 
year "in the 55th year of his age." 

Mr. Auge's touching memoir which is mainly given 
here, closes thus : "Perhaps no man ever died in Norris- 
town whose demise produced more profound heartfelt 
sorrow. His remains were attended to the grave by all 
classes and denominations of our people. His body is 
interred immediately in the rear of St. John's Church, in 
an enclosed lot, upon which is erected a handsome but 
plain marble obelisk. On this is chiseled the following 
simple but truthful inscription : 'A tribute of respect 
to the memory of our pastor, Rev. Nathan Stem, D. D/ 
He was the rector of St. John's Church, twenty years 
and nine months. In life he preached Jesus, and now he 
sleeps in Him." 

Such a work as that of Mr. Auge is most useful to one 
collecting information in the region of which it treats, 
and he deserves praise for his efforts to keep up the 
memory of the departed. 

Rev. John Woart, was rector from i860 to 1S63. He 
is now at Marianna, Florida. The beautiful rectory was 
purchased for him. He created much interest in the 
parish, and was successful in work. I recollect him as a 
very fine and impressive extemporary preacher. The 
following sketch is from lives of "Living Officers of the 
United States Army." 



XORRISTOWX (C.) ST. JOHX's. 193 

Woart, John (Chaplain U. S. A.). Retired; appointed 
from Pa. Service — At Savannah, Hilton Head, S. C; 
Fort Union, N. M.; Abercrombie, Dakota; Fort Snell- 
ing, Minnesota; Fort Leavenworth, Kan. In the Depart- 
ment of the Missouri and in Dakota he was accustomed 
to go to different posts not provided with chaplains, and 
to visit extensive neighborhoods, by permission of 
department commanders, to render services. He was 
assigned to Angel Island, in the harbor of San Fran- 
cisco. He is now on the retired list. At several posts 
he lectured on Historical and Scientific subjects. His- 
tory — After his collegiate studies were concluded he 
studied law r in his native city, Newburyport, Mass. Just 
before he was to be allowed to commence the practice of 
law he entered his name as a candidate for Holy Orders 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church. The desire to do 
so dated back to his earliest recollections. He pursued 
his divinity studies at the Theological Seminary in Vir- 
ginia. His first parish was in Maryland ; his second in 
New Jersey. He then removed to Boston, and was rec- 
tor of Christ Church. He did clerical work in Louisi- 
ana, and was afterward rector of Dayton, Ohio. In the 
Southern War his interest impelled him to visit hospitals 
and afflicted families unofficially, and he was asked to 
go South as a hospital chaplain. 

Rev. George W. Brown was rector from 1867 to 
1869. 

Rev. Dr. Eaton W. Maxcy was born in Providence, 
Rhode Island, in 1832. He was educated in the public 
schools of his native city, and at the high school and 
Brown University, where he was graduated in 1853. 
He then studied in Virginia Theological Seminary, and 
was ordained deacon by Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, 
in 1856, and priest by the same bishop, on June 4th, 1857. 



194 NORRISTOWN (c.) ST. JOHN'S. 

His first field was that of missionary at St. Philip's 
Church, Crompton Mills, Warwick, Rhode Island, and 
afterwards he took charge of St. Mark's Church, Warren, 
Rhode Island. He remained there till 186 r, when he 
became rector of, Christ Church, Troy, New York, con- 
tinuing thereuntil 1864, when he removed to Norristown, 
and was rector of St. John's until 1867, when he became 
rector of St. John's Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut, 
and there remained until 18S5. In 1886 he resumed the 
rectorship of Christ Church, Troy, where he is still en- 
gaged. 

The degree of S. T. D. was conferred on him in 1876, 
by Hobart College, Geneva, New York. 

Rev. Charles Ewbank Mcllvaine, M. A. was the son 
of Rt. Rev. Charles Pettit Mcllvaine, bishop of Ohio, 
and Emily Coxe Mcllvaine, (both of Burlington, New 
Jersey.) 

He was born in Gambier, Ohio, April 14th, 1839, and 
died at Towanda, Pennsylvania, February 22d, 1876. 
This pleasant and affable clergyman died at an early age 
so that his useful ministry did not extend over a long 
period. He was a graduate of Kenyon College, Gam- 
bier, Ohio, and was two or three years at the University 
of Virginia, and graduated at the Gambier Theological 
School. He was ordained deacon by his father in 1863. 
Rectorships : — Christ Church, Springfield, Ohio, 1864-66; 
assistant to Bishop Lee at St. Andrew's Church, Wil- 
mington, Delaware, 1866-67; minister at Trinity Chapel, 
Newark, New Jersey, afterwards known as St. Stephen's 
Church, 1867-68, (18 months); St. John's Church, Norris- 
town, 1869-72; Christ Church, Towanda, 1873-76. 

Mr. Mcllvaine's widow, a daughter of Bishop Lee, re- 
sides in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Rev. Isaac Gibson was born in Rappahannock County, 




CHRIST CHURCH, SOUTH OIL CITY. 



OIL CITY (SOUTH) (P.) CHRIST CHURCH. I95 

Virginia, and came into the Protestant Episcopal Church 
from the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
in 1865, and was ordained deacon by the Rt. Rev. John 
Johns, Bishop of Virginia, in 1866, in Winchester, Vir- 
ginia, and presbyter by the same bishop in Staunton, 
Virginia, in 1867. 

He became assistant minister of Zion Church, Charles- 
town, Jefferson County, West Virginia, in 1866, and 
rector of St. Martin's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia, 
in November of that year. In 1868 he took charge of 
Trinity Church, Louisville, Kentucky, together with 
several adjacent points, and in 1870, he became assistant 
minister of Calvary Church, Louisville, Kentucky. The 
following year he became rector of Trinity Church, 
Covington, Kentucky, and in 1872, rector of St. John's 
Church, Norristown, and has just entered upon the 
nineteenth year of his pastorate. This time forms a 
record of faithful work, and may the rector have many 
like years. 

During the past year a mission has been planted in 
the West End of the town, and the outlook for a new 
church is fair. The Rev. John W. Kaye, of Philadelphia, 
has become assistant minister of the parish, and through 
his active co-operation the work of the church is assum- 
ing wider proportions in this community. 

OIL CITY (SOUTH) (P.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

This parish was organized in 1866, at the instance of 
Rev. Marcus A. Tolman, rector of St. John's Church, 
Franklin, who had given occasional services in the city. 
Before this time, in 1863, the Rev. I. W. Tays, then rec- 
tor of St. John's, Franklin, had given regular services 
for a time, but on account of the fluctuating character 
of the population, only two or three persons dwelling in 



196 OIL CITY (SOUTH) (P.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

the city at that time being churchmen, or favorable to 
the church, were resident in 1866. The meeting for 
organizing the parish was held at the residence of Mr. 
Wm. J. Brundred, an invitation having been extended 
to "all persons in the city who were favorable to the 
Episcopal Church." 

In August, 1866, the new parish, uniting with St. 
John's Church, Rousevillc, extended a call to the Rev. 
R. D. Nevius, of the Diocese of Alabama, who accepted 
it, and entered upon his duties as rector. Services were 
first held in Bascom's Hall. After six months, the 
congregation removed to Excelsior Hall, which was 
occupied until Christmas, 1868, when, a room being 
fitted up in the Mercantile Buildings, the congregation 
removed to it. In the Diocesan Convention of 1867 the 
parish was admitted into union with the diocese. It was 
self-supporting from the first. In February, 1869, the 
rector resigned, and accepted a call to St. John's Church, 
Mobile, Alabama. 

The Rev. Marison Byllesby was called to the parish, 
and entered upon the work in September, 1869. During 
his rectorship a neat Gothic church was erected, and the 
parish took on new life. He resigned in the spring of 187 1. 
The Rev. J.T.Protheroe was the next rector, taking charge 
of the parish in May, 1871, and resigning in May, 1875. 

The Rev. Charles G. Adams was the successor of Mr. 
Protheroe, and held the rectorship until Ascension Day, 
1879. In October, 1879, the Rev. P. B. Lightner 
accepted a call to the parish, and resigned October 8th, 
1882. A change was made in the interior of the church 
during this time, to accommodate a large chorus choir, 
which took the place of the quartette choir, and Anglican 
music was used exclusively. A new organ was pre- 
sented by Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Foster, 



peouea (pa,) st. johx's. 197 

The Rev. J. H. B. Brooks accepted a call to the parish 
January 1st, 1883. In 1886, August 12th, the corner- 
stone for a new church was laid, and the present sub- 
stantial stone church was erected and opened with a 
benediction by the bishop of the diocese on the follow- 
ing Easter. The church has many beautiful memorials 
of the departed, and thank-offerings for mercies and 
tokens of God's loving kindness. The Rev. Laurens 
McLure served as assistant to the present rector for one 
year, and the Rev. E. L. Ogilby, who had been the 
efficient Sunday-school Superintendent for many years, 
and a licensed lay-reader while pursuing his studies, was 
presented by the rector for ordination to the diaconate 
in this church, and was ordained by Rt. Rev. Dr. White- 
head, June 2d, 1S89. The present rector, Rev. J. H. B. 
Brooks, w r as ordained deacon in St. Andrew's Church, 
Wilmington, Del., by Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, D. D., June 
27th, 1871. Ordained priest in St. James's Church, 
Kingsessing, Philadelphia, by Rt. Rev. Dr. Stevens, 
September 29th, 1872. Rectorships: St. George's 
Church, Philadelphia, Pa. ; St. Luke's Church, Seaford, 
Del, and St. Peter's Church, Salisbury, Md. 

peouea (pa.) st. john's. 
(communicated. ) 

Rectors.— The Rev. Messrs. Richard Backhouse, 
1729 to 1739; John Blackhall, 1739 to 1742; Richard 
Backhouse, 1742 to 1750; George Craig, 1751 to 1759; 
Thomas Barton, 1759 to 1776; T. Frederick Illing, 1784 
to 1789; Elisha Rigg, 1788 to 179 1-3; Levi Heath, 1793 
to 1 798 ; Joseph Clarkson, 1799 to 1830; Wm. A.Muh- 
lenberg, D. D., 1822 to 1824; Samuel Bowman, 1824-5 
and 1826-7 ; John B, Clemson, D. D., 1828 to 1831 ; R. 
U. Morgan, 1831 to 1834; E. Y. Buchanan, 1835 to 



198 peouea (pa.) st. john's. 

1845; H. Tullidge, 1845 to 1854; E. P. Wright, 1854 to 
1856 ; Wm. G. Hawkins, 1856 to 1858 ; George G. Hep- 
burn, 1859 to i860 ; Henry R. Smith, 1861 to 1872 ; C. 
B. Mee, one year ; H. Tullidge, 1876 to 1882 or 1883. 

In some respects this list may not be strictly accurate, 
but it is an approximation, as near as the writer can get 
at it. 

The first four clergymen were missionaries of the S. 
P. G. F. P. The Rev. Richard Backhouse lived at Old 
Chester, and came to these parts and held services once 
a month. 

Rev. S. R. Boyer, was born in Hinkletown, Lancaster 
County, Pa., in 1839; educated in the public schools 
and at the State Normal School, Millersville, Pa., and in 
the Theological Department of the University of Lewis- 
burg, Pa. Was a Baptist minister for about ten years. 
On a change of views in regard to the Constitution of 
the Church and the Christian ministry, he was ordained 
deacon by the Rt. Rev. M. A. De Wolf Howe, D. D.,in 
Christ Cathedral, Reading, Pa., on March 28th, 1877. 
In 1879, he was advanced to the priesthood by the same 
bishop and in the same place. He was in charge of St. 
James's Church, Schuylkill Haven, Pa.; Christ Church, 
Lykens, Pa,; Missions in Steelton and Newport, Pa., 
and took charge of St. John's Church, Pequea, on Sun- 
day, July 19th, 1885. He has also had the care of the 
Mission in Parkesburg, in connection with St. John's, 
since May, 1890. 

REV. H. R. SMITH. 

(communicated.) 

Henry Reed Smith, w r as born at Lancaster, Pa., 
November 14th, 1833, and educated in the public schools 
of Philadelphia, graduating at the High School; ordained 



pequea (pa.) st, johx's. 199 

to the ministry at Christ Church, Germantown, by Bishop 
Lee, in 1862; entered on his duties as rector of St. John's 
Church, Pequea, April 25th, 1862, having been married 
the day previous to Grace Clarkson, a grand-daughter of 
Rev. Joseph Clarkson, a former rector of Bangor 
Church. 

The following is an extract from his diary : After 
preaching at St. John's, Pequea, in the morning, he 
would drive to Leacock in the afternoon, hold service 
there, and in the evening go over to Parkesburg Mis- 
sion, for another service. 

From 1868, he held afternoon service in Bangor 
Church, Churchtown, and continued to do so, on alter- 
nate Sunday afternoons* and many times also in the 
evening. 

He used also to serve St. Thomas's Church, Morgan- 
town. 

In 1872, he removed to Gwynedd, Montgomery Coun- 
ty. The S. E. Convocation took hold of the Parkesburg 
mission, appointing Rev. J. T. Carpenter, (an intimate 
friend of Mr. Smith,) to take charge. Few can under- 
stand the labor and nature of the w r ork in which he labor- 
ed for so many years in those outlying parishes, and 
only those who accompanied him in his long drives can 
have the remotest idea w r hat those labors involved. 
While at Gwynedd he had no regular charge, but preach- 
ed occasionly at Philadelphia and other places, the last 
being at Beach Haven, where he was visiting, w T hen his 
sad death by drowning occurred while bathing in the 
ocean, and the 21st of August, 1875, closed its pages 
upon the earthly career of an earnest and faithful laborer 
in the vineyard of the Lord. 

Mr. Smith was an earnest and logical preacher, and 
highly appreciated wherever he officiated. While at 



200 PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

Pequea, he declined various calls, apparently being wed- 
ded to his parish and missionary work at Pequea, and 
the surrounding country. He was a good conversational- 
ist and possessed of extraordinary business qualifications. 
The writer of this volume would add to this true testi- 
mony of a lovable man that he once rode on a Sunday 
with him from Pequea to Churchtown and Morgantown 
making a ride of perhaps 30 miles or more. Mr. Smith 
spent freely of his own hard earned means to support 
himself in doing the church's work. Bishop Howe's 
eulogy of him may be found in the Journal of Central 
Pennsylvania, for 1876. Rev. Henry C. Pastorius, of 
Manheim, is a brother-in-law of Mr. Smith. 

PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

Having been requested to sketch the history of this 
parish in this volume, I gladly do so. 

The original services were held in "a small chapel" in 
a little alley above Vine Street, near Eleventh Street, 
outside of the old city limits. The alley was entered 
from Eleventh Street. 

The first rector, whose picture hangs in the vestry 
room was Rev. Benjamin Parham Aydelott, M. D., D. D., 
from 1826 to 1828. His son, John Henshaw Aydelott, 
sends me the following sketch. The son is City Mission- 
ary in Cincinnati, where he is doing very useful work. 

Benjamin Parham Aydelott, M. D., D. D., was born 
in Philadelphia, in 1795, being on his father's side of 
direct French Huguenot blood, while his mother came 
of the original Quaker stock, who w r ere the first settlers 
of Philadelphia. His father being an officer in the U. 
S. Navy, was necessarily absent from home the larger 
part of his time, and for this reason his boyhood train- 
ing fell almost entirely upon his mother, whose great 



PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. tot 

ambition was, that her son should become a physician. 
He was sent while quite a lad to the "Protestant Epis- 
copal Academy," at Cheshire, Conn., where he gradu- 
ated, and then entered the "College of Physicians and 
Surgeons," of New York City, from which he graduated 
in 1 815. In 1 81 6, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Caroline Dob, of New York, by Rev. Christian Bork. 
After practicing medicine for a short period, he became 
convinced that his true calling was to preach the Gospel, 
and after taking a theological course he was ordained a 
deacon by Bishop Hobart, and two years afterward was 
ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Kemp. 

He was the first rector of Grace Church, Philadelphia, 
serving from 1826 to 1828, having previous to that time 
served other churches, at one period having charge of 
two parishes in Maryland, journeying from one to the 
other on horseback. In 1828, he became rector of Christ 
Church, Cincinnati, and continued there several years, 
leaving a strong parish where he had found a w r eak one. 
In 1835, became President of "Woodward College," in 
this city, which position he occupied during ten years of 
its most successful history, and the "Old Woodward 
Boys" still cherish a grateful rememberance of his 
unwavering kindness and regard for their personal wel- 
fare. In 1841, he was united in marriage to his second 
wife, Miss Betsey E. Fosdick, who survived him for some 
years. 

Dr. Aydelott was deservedly held in high esteem as a 
scholar and Christian minister by those of all denomi- 
nations, being forward in rendering personal service in 
all good works. He was a copious writer for the press, 
both religious and secular, chiefly upon religious and 
educational topics, and in advocacy of anti-slavery and 
temperance views. His college addresses and other 
14 



202 PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

writings, as published, were highly appreciated by his 
many readers. He was a diligent and untiring student, 
spending many hours in his study each day, and it was 
while thus engaged he was stricken with paralysis of the 
brain, from \yhich he never rallied, but closed a long 
and useful public life in Cincinnati, in 1880, in his 86th 
year. He was laid to rest in beautiful Spring Grove 
Cemetery, amid scores of those to whom for so many 
years he was pastor and friend. 

This closes the son's loving testimony to a father's 
worth. 

The family are said to be descended from French 
barons in feudal days, but they have in later times done 
good service in the church militant. 

Another descendant of Dr. Aydelott writes me as fol- 
lows : " He preached usually with notes, but was a ready 
and easy speaker without them. He was clear and logi- 
cal in style. He >vas a man of very positive convictions 
and opinions. Was the author of a number of books, 
chiefly on religious subjects. " 

Bishop Smith was rector from 1828 to 1830. I add a 
sketch of his life from Rev. Dr. Batterson's Sketch-Book 
of the American Episcopate. 

THE RT. REV. BENJAMIN B0SW0RTH SMITH, S. T. D., L.L. D. 

The first bishop of Kentucky, was born in Bristol, R. 
I. in A. D. 1794. He graduated at Brown University, 
Providence, R. I., A. D. 1816. Ordered deacon in St. 
Michael's Church, Bristol, by Bishop Griswold ; ordain- 
ed priest in St. Michael's Church, Marblehead, Mass., 
1 81 8, by the same prelate. 

His first pastoral work was in St. Michael's Parish, 
Marblehead, where he remained about two years, when 
he removed to Virginia, and became the rector of St. 



PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 203 

George's Church, Accomack County. About two years 
later, he became the rector of Zion Church, Charles- 
town, with charge of Trinity Church, Shepherdstown. 
In 1823, he removed to Vermont and became rector of 
St. Stephen's Church, Middlebury. In 1828 he took 
charge of Grace Church Mission, Philadelphia. In 1830 
he removed to Kentucky, and became the rector of 
Christ Church, Lexington, which position he held until 
1837, when he gave up all pastoral work, and devoted 
himself to the duties of his Episcopate. 

He received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology 
from Geneva College, (now Hobart,) A. D. 1832, and 
that of Doctor of Laws from Brown University, A. D. 
1872, and from Griswold College, Iowa, A. D. 1870. 

Consecrated Bishop of Kentucky in St. Paul's Chapel, 
New York, on the 31st day of October, A. D. 1832, by 
Bishops White, Brownell and Henry Ustick Onderdonk. 

Upon the death of Bishop Hopkins, A. D. 1868, he 
became a Presiding Bishop. 

Writings — 1. A Sermon before the General Conven- 
tion, A, D. 1850 : The Position of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church in these United States. 2. Five Charges to 
his Clergy. 3. Saturday Evening, or Thoughts on the 
Progress of the Plan of Salvation, 1876. 4. Apostolic 
Succession; Facts which prove that a Ministry appoint- 
ed by Christ Himself involves this Position, 1877. 

Rev. Cyrus H. Jacobs was rector from 1831 to 1832. 

Addison May, Esq., of West Chester, Pennsylvania, 
writes me as follows concerning him : 

"I knew Rev. Cyrus Jacobs quite well. He was the 
oldest son of James and Margaret Bull Jacobs, his 
mother being a sister of Rev. Dr. Levi Bull, and a 
daughter of Col. Thomas Bull, who was captured by the 
British during the Revolutionary War and confined in 



204 PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

one of the prison ships in the harbor of New York. 
Cyrus was born in 1809 or 10, at Federal Hall, near 
Churchtown, in Lancaster County. In the spring of 1831 
he married at Compton, Talbot County, Maryland, Anna 
Maria Stevens, the second daughter of Governor Samuel 
and Eliza May Stevens. Mrs. Stevens was my sister. 
His wife lived but a short time — not a year — after her 
marriage to Mr. Jacobs. She is buried in Philadelphia. 
His second wife was a Miss Makel of Cecil County, 
Maryland. For some years he preached at St. Andrew's 
Church, in West Vincent township, Chester County. 
He was a strong vigorous man of fine appearance. 

Rev. Dr. Buchanan, in response to my inquiries, writes 
me thus : " He was in college (Dickinson, Carlisle), with 
me. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Moore, of 
Virginia, in 1831 ; it is therefore presumable that he had 
been a student in the Alexandria Seminary. He died 
somewhere between 1830 and 1840. He was, as I re- 
member, an earnest, good man." Rev. Dr. Clemson 
writes that St. Andrew's " flourished under his ministry. 
His heart was in his labors." 

I note in the diocesan journals that, after leaving Grace 
Church, he became rector of St. Paul's, West White- 
land, Chester County, Pa., which was vacant by the 
resignation of Rev. Dr. R. U. Morgan. In 1833 he was 
rector of this parish. In 1835 St. Andrews, West Vin- 
cent, is also marked as under his care. In 1836, he 
resigned these parishes, and his residence was in Phila- 
delphia. A clerical friend who saw him in his own boy- 
hood describes him to me as tall and spare, and an 
earnest preacher. 

From 1832 to 1834, Rev. S. C. Brinckle was rector. 
For an account of him turn to "Radnor," in this vol- 
ume. His brother, Dr. Wm. Brinckle, a physician, was 



PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 205 

the main-spring in the building of Grace Church. . Rev. 
Mr. Brinckle was the first rector to officiate in the new 
church, though his rectorship was brief. 

The coming of Dr. Suddards to Grace Church in 
1834, marked an era in its history, and for forty-four years, 
until 1878, it was under his faithful care. He was after 
this date rector emeritus, and worshiped in the church 
he dearly loved. I add some data kindly given me. 

Rev. YVm. Suddards, D. D. was born April 8th, 1804, 
in Bradford, England. Educated privately by Rev. Wm. 
Morgan, Vicar of Bradford. Ordained deacon and 
priest, in 1834, by Bishop Mcllvaine. Rectorships: 
Zanesville, Ohio; Grace Church, Philadelphia, December 
1834 to 1878; afterwards rector emeritus. Died Feb- 
ruary 20th, 1883. Buried in family vault, "Woodlands 
Cemetery." 

Bishop Stevens in his graceful way outlined the char- 
acter of his friend, Dr. Suddards, in a funeral sermon 
in 1883 which was printed. We there see the fatherless 
infant growing up to be in early life a Methodist 
preacher, and drawn to the United States by the cele- 
brated Rev. Geo. G. Cookman. He came to Grace Church 
when it was weak, and in ten years it was third in the 
diocese as to size of congregation, confirmations, commu- 
nicants and Sunday scholars. The doctor was the friend 
of his people, and held "Christ Crucified" before them, 
to use his own words, " as the Sun and centre of revealed 
truth." He believed in the Church as "apostolic and 
divine," as Bishop Stevens says. 

He was privileged to observe the 60th anniversary of 
his wedding with her who had joined her life with his 
in 1822, " in the Church of St. Nicholas, New Castle on 
Tyne, now become the Cathedral of the new diocese of 
New Castle." The solemn funeral and crowding clergy 



206 PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

and laity mourning their loss, and the burial beside the 
church walls are depicted by Bishop Stevens, but as 
we think of the blessed dead who died in the Lord let 
us strive to follow them where pastor and people may 
rejoice forever in the smile of God. 

While I had a pleasant acquaintance with the Doc- 
tor as a resident in summer in Claymont, Delaware, 
I will sketch his character from one who can speak from 
a closer relation. He was a man of quiet humor, trust- 
ful and unsuspicious. He was a strong advocate of 
Foreign Missions. The effect of his preaching was very 
striking, drawing crowds for years. He broke down 
time and again under his great efforts, requiring trips to 
the old country for recuperation. Rev. Dr. Benj. Wat- 
son once took his place in his absence. He was a quiet 
but earnest and impressive preacher. He had great 
influence over the Friends, and Grace Church was 
styled the Quaker Church, because the Doctor drew 
them into his fold. He wrote Bishop Stevens that he 
had baptized "some two hundred" of them. 

The Doctor held cottage-meetings. Mrs. Suddards, 
who still lives at the age of ninety, was a great help- 
meet in Sunday-school work, being a directress of the 
school for many years. Herman Cope and Dr. Thomas 
were helpful wardens. Another warden, Marshall Hill, 
had a country place near his rector's at Claymont, and 
I remember his genial life in the rural parish I then 
served, and he was an aid with his city rector in build- 
ing the Church of the Ascension on the banks of the 
Delaware, of which Dr. Clemson was rector. 

Franklin Fell, still another warden, who had a place 
at Faulkland, Delaware, with whom I was associated 
in diocesan matters, used to call Grace Church a bee- 
hive, on account of the great amount of Christian work 



PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 207 

there performed. The bees still work and make good 
honey. 

The Year Book of 1890 notes communicants' meet- 
ings and cottage meetings conducted by laymen, and 
the work of the female missionary, Mrs. P. C. Kraii, 
and district visiting. Wm. Waterall is the faithful Sun- 
day-school superintendent. The Parochial Aid and 
Dorcas and Women's Missionary Societies, and Young 
Ladies' Industrial Society, and Beneficial Society, and 
St. Andrew's Brotherhood, and Temperance Society, 
indicate ardent work. 

In 1849 Grace Church gave its assistant, Rev. Chas. 
West Thomson, to St. John's parish, York, Pa., and 
aided the parish generously in pecuniary matters. 
Thos. A. Robinson, of Grace Church, presented that 
church with a marble font in 185 1. He once resided in 
York. Would that many could gain pleasant remem- 
brance by such acts. (See York in this volume.) The 
assistant, Rev. Mr. Barker, also went to St. John's, Lan- 
caster, Pa., (See Lancaster in this volume). Working 
city churches are good schools for assistants. 

In 1878 Rev. James W. Ashton became associate rec- 
tor. He is now rector of St. Stephen's, Olean, N. Y. 
King's Handbook of Episcopal Churches, has a picture 
of the beautiful church erected under his care. The 
parish "growth has been remarkable " under this ener- 
getic leader. 

Rev. Dr. Reese F. Alsop was rector of Grace Church 
from 1881 to 1886. He is a good and instructive 
preacher and a wise worker. 

He was educated in Philadelphia, and after taking his 
degree of A. B., was for two years a law student in the 
office of Samuel H. Perkins, Esq. He pursued his 
theological studies partly in private and partly in the 



2o8 PHILADELPHIA (PA.) GRACE CHURCH. 

classes of the Philadelphia Divinity School, and was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Bowman, and priest by 
Bishop Hopkins, and was assistant at St. Philip's, rector 
of St. John's Church, Framingham, Massachusetts ; 
Christ Church, Rye, New York ; St. Andrew's, Pitts- 
burgh ; Grace Church, Philadelphia, and St. Ann's, 
Brooklyn. He wrote two series of Sunday-school 
books. 

Rev. Dr. Stone succeeded Dr. Alsop. He has a mind 
trained by study and disciplined by teaching. His 
Bible readings cost the rector much study, but when 
hundreds of men and women are drawn together on 
week-day afternoons to hear expositions of God's holy 
word, they repay the labor done in Christ's name and 
the aid of the Holy Spirit. 

The rector is fond of ecclesiastical history, and has 
lately put out a book entitled, " Studies in Church His- 
tory." His* lectures in his o\\ n church and to the Sun- 
day-school teachers collected at the church of the Holy 
Apostles have been very useful. He speaks quietly but 
forcibly, and lightens his thoughts on proper occasions 
with flashes of humor. He composes well, and puts 
ideas in such a striking manner as to compel attention. 
May he long guide and instruct Grace Church. 

James Samuel Stone was born in Shipston-on-Stowe, 
Worcestershire, England, April 27, 1852. He came to 
Philadelphia in 1872, and studied in the Philadelphia 
Divinity School. He was ordained deacon in 1876, and 
the bishop of Toronto, Canada, ordained him priest in 
1877. He was rector of St. Philip's, Toronto, from 1S79 
to 1882, and of St. Martin's, Montreal, from T882 to 1886, 
when he became rector of Grace Church, Philadelphia. 
He was Professor of Ecclesiastical History in Wycliffe 
College, Toronto, and was well known as a lecturer in 




ST. DAVID S, RADNOR. 
By permission of J. B. Lippincott Co. 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 209 

Canada. The degree of B. D. was given him by the 
Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, and the same degree and also D. D. from Bishop's 
College, Lennoxville, Canada. He has written articles 
for periodicals, and " Simple Sermons on Simple Sub- 
jects," and "The Heart of Merrie England." This 
sketch is abridged from Appleton's Cyclopaedia of 
American Biography. I add that Bishop Stevens or- 
dained Dr. Stone to the diaconate, and Bishop Bethune 
to the priesthood. He was educated at Bishop's Col- 
lege, Lennoxville, Canada. 

Rev. Dr. Wm. C. French is an assistant-minister at 
Grace Church. He was long and favorably known as 
the editor of The Banner of the Cross in Ohio, which 
has been merged into The Church in Philadelphia, ably 
edited by him and his son, Rev. Willison B. French, and 
published by W. E. Hering. 

Rev. Hugh Q. Miller is also an assitant-minister. A 
new work in connection with this parish has been started 
in West Philadelphia. 

RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

(An anniversary sermon preached by the author of this volume on Sunday, 
September Tth, A. D. 1890.) 

"The Messengers of the Churches and the Glory of Christ." — 
II Cor, 8:23. 

St. Paul called his fellow-laborers "the glory of 
Christ," because they were the means of spreading His 
glory in teaching His holy Gospel. In thousands of 
churches, in all lands, Christian ministers have per- 
petuated this glory for nearly two thousand years, and 
it shone across the Atlantic into this distant land. 

Your rector has asked me to sketch the lives of those 
\yho have ministered at this altar. 



2IO RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

As we enter this pleasant, quiet valley and look on 
this modest church, the distant land of Wales is recalled 
by the name Radnor and the title St. David's. Radnor 
is a county in South Wales, and St. David's is the seat 
of a bishopric. The strong Welsh language, like the 
Hebrew in power, used to resound within these walls in 
the reading of the word of God and in preaching and 
holy sacraments. Dr. Coit, in his History of Chris- 
tianity in England, quotes Fuller as saying of the Welsh, 
that these ancient Britons "living peaceably at home, 
there enjoyed God, the Gospel and their mountains." 
William Penn wrote Logan that Welshmen were 
" mightily akin ; " and when they came here they de- 
lighted to call the places after their loved fatherland, 
and I am glad that their descendants are yet repeating 
the good custom. The Church of St. Asaph, at Bala, 
and that of Bangor, at Churchtown, in Lancaster County, 
show this spirit. When the devout Welsh first settled 
in this country their earnest pleading for clergy who 
could teach them in their own tongue is touching. 

St. David flourished in the sixth century, and was 
bishop of Caerleon, the old town of the Legions of the 
Roman army, but afterward removed his seat to Mene- 
via, and the name of that town was changed to St. 
David's, and the ancient bishop is buried in its cathe- 
dral. Drayton calls him, " That reverend British saint." 
He was noted for his zeal in maintaining orthodox 
Christian doctrine. 

The sources of information for following out the his- 
tory of this parish are the valuable Historical Collections 
of Bishop Perry, which give the reports of the Mission- 
aries of the Venerable Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and the Rev. Mr. Halsey's 
sermon and Mr. Henry Pleasant's pamphlet, and par- 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 211 

ticulars given me by friends and relatives of rectors. 
*The noble English Society named must ever be remem- 
bered with reverence by us for its fostering care in our 
early American church life. 

In the Rev. Israel Acrelius's History of New Sweden, 
translated by Rev. Dr. Reynolds, it is noted that on 
May 9, A. D. 17 15, the corner-stone of St. David's 
Church, Radnor, was laid. The Swedish pastor, Sandel 
of Gloria Dei Church was invited. A service was held 
and a sermon preached in a private house. A proces- 
sion then went to the site of the church. There a prayer 
was offered, and each clergyman laid a stone as directed 
by the master mason. Thus, under the blue sky which 
now bends above us and amid these beautiful hills, was 
begun a work for God for which many souls may bless 
His holy name, who have found Christ here in the pass- 
ing of the century and three-quarters which have since 
rolled their years along time's course. The corner- 
stone was laid in the reign of George the First. 

The Rev. Mr. Halsey's anniversary sermon was 
preached in 1867. He refers to the useful account of 
the Propagation Society by its Secretary, Rev. Dr. 
David Humphries, which names Evan Evans as first 
visiting the Welsh settlements at Oxford and Radnor. 
He was a zealous missionary in charge of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia, who did much good work for the 
Church of Christ in founding country parishes. I have 
treated of him at length in a volume lately published on 
the early clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware. 

The Radnor people asked for a missionary, and in 
1 7 14 Rev. John Clubb became the missionary of Oxford 
and Radnor. The flock thankfully received this earnest 
man, but fatigue and exposure to the weather in his 
long journeys between his churches, in the days of poor 



2 12 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

roads, apparently shortened the life of this man, who 
may be numbered among " the noble army of martyrs." 
The Oxford parishioners expressed their sense of their 
great loss in the death of their Godly minister who had 
entered into the joy of his Lord. The church here was 
built under this clergyman. 

In 1 718, Rev. Robert Weyman took charge of Oxford 
and Radnor. He was diligent and zealous. He lived 
at Oxford. He preached in Welsh at Radnor. He 
gained the confidence of his people. He served Christ 
faithfully. Governor Gordon describes him as a very 
good man. Mr. Weyman" also served Whitemarsh, and 
had a well-attended afternoon lecture in Mr. Walton's 
house at Frankford. He toiled eleven years in the 
three parishes named, and his parishoners loved him, as 
the Rev. Mr. Anderson notes in his History of the 
Colonial English Church. He was appointed in 1 7 j 8, 
but did not reach this province until 17 19. The Col- 
lections of the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society 
mention him. Rev. Dr. Buchanan, in his History of 
Trinity Church, Oxford, speaks of his great worth and 
diligence in ministerial work. He often went to Cones- 
toga, (Lancaster,) forty miles from his residence, to bap- 
tize and perform clerical duty. He was afterward in 
charge of Burlington parish, in New Jersey, and rector 
of Bristol, Pennsylvania, as is noted in General Davis's 
History of Bucks County. He died in the active service 
of Christ with armor on. The day before his death he 
wrote the Venerable Society praying that the blessing 
of God might be upon its members. Rev. Edward 
Vaughan watched his death-bed, and testified that he 
had labored truly and faithfully in the Lord's vine- 
yard. His heaven seemed to begin with his closing 
hours on earth. Thomas's History of Printing names a 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 213 

son of Mr. Weyman, called William, who learned the 
business of printing under William Bradford, and pub- 
lished the New York Gazette. 

In 1 73 1, Rev. Richard Backhouse officiated at Rad- 
nor once a month. He had the charge of Chester, and 
used to make toilsome journeys to do missionary work 
in the country districts, going to Conestogaand Pequea. 
He was an instructive preacher, and did not disappoint 
his congregations in severe weather. He strove to 
build up his scattered churches in " the beauty of holi- 
ness," teaching them that the Doctrine and Government 
of the English Church were in accordance w T ith the 
primitive Church of Christ. He taught several poor 
children in Chester. His widow wrote the Secretary of 
the Society that he died in 1749, well reported of on 
account of "his long and painful labours in his Master's 
vineyard among all sorts and degrees of people." His 
frequent journeyings impaired his health, and seemed 
tcf shorten his earthly life. "The flower of his days" 
was spent " in the faithful discharge of the great trust 
reposed in him." 

In 1736, Rev. John Hughes was Missionary at Rad- 
nor. In our advanced civilization and population it is 
strange to read his report that he visited many Welsh 
and English gentlemen who "lived far back in the 
woods," and found a number of well-disposed persons 
destitute of a minister. He went several times to them, 
and preached "under the shade of a large tree," as the 
houses were too small to contain those who came to 
hear the Word of God. This was indeed a patriarchal 
service in God's own temple. The date of the report 
was 1733 or x 734. The Welsh greatly desired books, 
and there were thousands of Welsh people then in Penn- 
sylvania. The inhabitants of Conestoga beg for a 



214 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

Welsh Bible and Prayer Book for their new church, 
which has taken the place of the tree, and they are 
ready to buy other Welsh books. Mr. Halsey notices 
Mr. Hughes in his sermon. He visited the parishioners 
at their houses, and instructed them in the fundamental 
principles of religion, and preached and catechised every 
Sunday at Radnor and Perquihoma, which last place is 
now called Perkiomen, where St. James's Church is sit- 
uated. The old parishes which were associated in early 
days ought to keep up a family interest in each other, 
and I wish that sometime they could have a united 
meeting at the old churches in turn, that the descend- 
ants of the first patriarchs might look each other in the 
face, and exchange Christian greetings, as they recall 
the days of their fathers, with their hardships and their 
heavenly joys. 

In 1734, Mr. Hughes writes that he was the only per- 
son officiating in Welsh. The people importuned him 
for Welsh books, which most were willing and able to 
purchase. The missionary begs that they may be sent 
as useful means of instruction much needed. The 
inhabitants' of Conestoga style Mr. Hughes "their dear 
countryman," and mention his "great hardship" in 
coming to preach to them monthly, to their " great com- 
fort." Their numbers were thereby increased. 

Rev. William Sturgeon, Assistant Minister of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia, and Mr. Hughes wrote to the 
Propagation Society suggesting that certain islands on 
the sea-shore, and in the Delaware River be solicited 
from the Crown to make an income to assist Church 
work in this country, where the clergy were poor, and 
in case of their deaths their widows and children were 
left destitute of the necessaries of life. Certain manors 
in Delaware, located for the Duke of York, which w T ere 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 215 

then believed to be vested in the king, were also sug- 
gested as proper subjects of request. 

In 1 7 19, there was a church-warden at Radnor named 
Evan Hughes. He, with the other warden, Merick 
Davis, reported that Rev. Dr. Evan Evans preached in 
Radnor, at the house of William Davis fortnightly from 
seventeen hundred during his residence in Philadelphia 
gratuitously, and after his return from England he 
preached at St. David's, Radnor, and Trinity Church, 
Oxford, on alternate Thursdays. They add, "he laid 
the foundation of the Church of England in these parts 
as well as other places in this province, and we have 
great reason to lament his departure. He removed to 
Maryland. 

Mr. Halsey thinks that probably Rev. William Curry 
succeeded Mr. Hughes. He appears to have performed 
baptisms in 1737. In 1776 he resigned, but still lived 
here, and was buried in this churchyard near the chancel 
of the church, and such graves are as a rich legacy to 
incite to devoted work those who still work in the same 
field. He was a faithful man. He was asked to preach 
a sermon before the Convention of Pennsylvania. He 
did service in this parish for a second, time in his later 
life. He lived to the age of 93. His wife was buried 
in the same grave. His epitaph on her said that he 
revered her memory and venerated her person. 

I find Mr. Curry's reports in Bishop Perry's Collec- 
tion. He writes from Radnor in 1740. In 1760 he 
states that he has many hearers at Radnor and in the 
Valley, which I suppose to be a reference to St. Peter's. 
He had faithfully served the Society over twenty-three 
years, and infirmity and old age approached. He did 
not attend the Convention in 1760 on account of poor 
health. In his extensive mission he neglected "no 



2i6 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

opportunity that his health will permit," he says, "of 
doing his duty." This is in the General Report of the 
Convention to be sent to England. 

Mr. Curry lived on his own place, which he sold 
when his health became poor ; and being without a 
habitation for his numerous family, he refers to a glebe 
at Perquihoma Church which had no house on it, and 
asks the Society to enjoin the congregations to rebuild 
the house or buy one more convenient. It is pleasant 
to look on your new rectory on the hillside, a few rods 
from the church, and be thankful that the present rector 
does not have this inconvenience. 

The Bishop of London sent two hundred copies of his 
sermons as a gift for the use of the Pennsylvania 
churches. They were distributed at a convention held 
in 1760. Mr. Curry received twelve for the Mission of 
Radnor. It would be interesting to know if any are 
remaining in this parish. Such gifts were important 
and useful in those days of few books, and you might 
have seen those who received the precious volumes 
poring over them on the Lord's Day and in the leisure 
evenings. In the Report of the Convention to the 
Society we read of Mr. Curry as follows : " He is much 
esteemed in his mission, which is a very extensive one." 

In 1763, Mr. Curry reports that the Dutch buy out the 
English and settle in their place at Perquihoma, which 
affects his work there detrimentally. The glebe was 
rented out, and besides the Society's salary, the poor 
clergyman had only about ^20 a year from marriages 
to support his family. The Radnor people did not 
wish Mr. Curry to live on Perquihoma glebe, the house 
of which that congregation wished rebuilt. The Radnor 
parishioners thought that this distant situation would be 
inconvenient for them and would not subscribe, but 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. * 21 7 

suggested the purchasing of a small glebe betwixt them 
and St. Peter's by the conjoint action of those two 
churches, but Mr. Curry doubted their ability to do 
this, as the price of land was very high ; so the mission- 
ary thought of living on the Perquihoma glebe, unless 
the other two churches bought or hired a house for his 
use. 

In your Church Records there is a letter from Mr. 
Curry dated May 13, 1776, to the Vestry. It states that 
age and infirmity cause the writer to decline public 
work, but that he would pray for the people privately 
and while he breathed ; and he asks his flock to pray 
for themselves when they could not have church service, 
and make the chamber as a Goshen and find calmness 
in the room of prayer ; as when the destroying angel 
devastated the Egyptians, those in Goshen were free 
and had light in their dwellings when darkness prevailed 
in Egypt, so the light of God would shine in the closet 
of devotion like the angel pillar of light. So private 
prayer should be performed until the troublous times 
were overpast, and the lifting up of the hands should be 
as an evening sacrifice. 

He writes thus : " My dear little flock, I bid you 
heartily farewell, and am with great love and affection 
your faithful pastor till death." Mr. Curry had been 
ordered to desist from service on Government accounts 
in Revolutionary days, when the clergy under the Eng- 
lish Church were in a hard position. He remained in 
the neighborhood, and when called to the rectorship 
declined, though he had formerly acted as missionary. 
He served in private houses for years after the letter 
was written. Rev. Mr. Curry's place was at Valley 
Forge, next to Mr. Peterson's. (A descendant, Miss 
Anderson, was present at this service.) 
*5 



2l8 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

The Rev. Slator Clay was minister here in 1789, 
perhaps succeeding Mr. Curry. 

REV. SLATOR CLAY. 
(From Early Clergy of Pennsylvania a?id Delaware.) 

I would add to the notes already given that Rev. Dr. 
Sprague's Annals of the American Episcopal Pulpit (pp. 
355-357) contain a most interesting account of Rev. 
Slator Clay (A. D. 1787 to A. D. 1821,) by his son, 
Rev. Jehu C. Clay, D. D. 

He was the son of Slator and Ann Clay, having been 
born in Newcastle, Delaware, October 1, 1754. His 
mother was the daughter of Jehu Curtis, Speaker of the 
Delaware Assembly, Judge of the Supreme Court and 
Treasurer of the Loan Office. The Judge is buried in 
the Newcastle churchyard. Benjamin Franklin wrote 
his epitaph. 

Slator Clay studied law r and was admitted to the bar. 
In 1779 or 1780 he went to the West Indies with a friend 
who was a sea captain. This was during the Revo- 
lutionary war, and a British privateer captured the ves- 
sel and Mr. Clay was put on shore on the Island of 
Antigua with only one piece of money in his possession. 
However, he took passage for New York, then held by 
the British. A sailor proposed mutiny, and Mr. Clay 
informed the captain, and the ringleader and perhaps 
others were confined. The vessel was seized by an 
American privateer. Mr. Clay afterward gained the 
confidence of the mutineer. The vessel was endangered 
by the sea off Hatteras and wrecked on Bermuda rocks. 
At Bermuda the young lawyer taught school for six 
years. His dangerous voyage turned his thoughts to 
A Presbyterian clergyman, Dr. Muir, of 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 219 

Alexandria, to whom he confided his views, led him on 
in his new life. He determined to enter the ministry. 
His warm friends in Bermuda desired him to be or- 
dained by the Bishop of London and serve u as their 
pastor." This was being arranged when Mr. Clay 
heard of the proposed consecration of Bishop White, 
and wishing to return to the land of his nativity, though 
he loved his island friends, sailed for Philadelphia, ar- 
riving there in 1786. That ^ear Rev. Dr. Collin mar- 
ried him to Mrs. Hannah Hiighes, a widow lady. They 
had " four children — a daughter and three sons." On 
December 23, A. D. 1787, Bishop White ordained 
Slator Clay a deacon in Christ Church, Philadelphia. 
This was the year of the bishop's consecration. On the 
17th of the next February he was ordained priest in St. 
Peter's Church. He became rector of St. James's, Per- 
kiomen. The church had been built in 1721. He was 
also rector of St. Peter's, Great Valley, Chester County, 
and St. David's, Radnor, which had been built in 1713. 
Mr. Clay was furthermore assistant minister of the 
Swedish parish of Christ Church, Upper Merion (Bridge- 
port), under Dr. Collin's rectorship. Episcopal clergy 
were scarce and their fields wide. In 1790, Mr. Clay 
moved from Upper Merion to Perkiomen, where a par- 
sonage had been erected for him, and there was "a 
glebe of some thirty acres." He gave a part of his time 
to St. Thomas's, Whitemarsh, in addition to his work 
at the other churches named, though he went to Rad- 
nor more seldom, as it was so distant from his new 
home. He was called to Alexandria, Virginia, but pre- 
ferred to remain in his quiet country home. Where he 
began his ministerial work he ended it, dying September 
25, 1821. Like Goldsmith's parson, he changed not his 
place. He was highly honored for his sincere piety 



220 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

which shone in his life. In favorable weather his 
churches "were always crowded." The hearers felt 
that the preacher exemplified his doctrine. "Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified," was his great theme. He 
thought little of human merit, but much of Christ's suf- 
ficiency for man's salvation. He was a natural and 
earnest preacher, and his voice was agreeable. He died 
at sixty-seven, closing " a life of faith on earth in a sure 
hope of entering on a life of glory in eternity." 

Mr. Clay was about five feet and eight inches high, 
and his body was slender and delicate, his eyes were of 
a hazel color, and his countenance was "benign and in- 
teresting." He was affable to friends. His Christian 
character made him humble, gentle and childlike. 

His son, Rev. Dr. Jehu Curtis Clay, followed his 
father in the rectorship for a year. (See Norristown in 
this volume for an account of him.) 

Slator Clay's elder brother, Robert, was a church 
clergyman. His birth occurred on October 18, 1749. 
He was in a mercantile establishment in Philadelphia in 
youth. Bishop White ordained him about 1787. He 
" was for thirty-six years rector of the church at New- 
castle, and died December, 1831. He was a fine reader 
of the Church Service and sustained an unblemished 
reputation. He was never married." 

Rev. Caleb Hopkins appears to have served the par- 
ish for a time. 

Mr. Halsey thought that perhaps he assisted Mr. 
Clay, who held St. David's Church till 1817. He was 
rector of St. James's, Muncy, and St. Gabriel's, Sugar 
Loaf, Pennsylvania, in 1823. He was ordained dea- 
con by Bishop White in 1794. Mr. Hopkins went to 
Western New York in 1823, and died September 5th, 
1824. 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 22 1 

From 1818 to 1832 Rev. Samuel C. Brinckle was rec- 
tor, and was successful in work. He organized the 
Sunday-school, which has done so much good where in 
this rustic churchyard the young have been taught to 
look beyond the surrounding tombs to the glory above. 
It is said that Mr. Brinckle once preached to a single 
hearer in yonder gallery. The celebrated father of 
Henry Ward Beecher is, I think, reported to have done 
the same, converting the one whom he addressed by 
the power of God. Sunday-school work is individual 
preaching and many personal home talks are sermons. 
I heartily wish that there were more of them. In old 
times parents sometimes made expositions of Scripture 
or exhortations at family prayer. 

Rev. Samuel Crawford Brinckle was born in Dover, 
in 1796. He was a graduate of Princeton College, was 
ordained deacon by Bishop White, in 1818, and priest 
the next year. His wife was Julia, daughter of John 
Rumsey, Esq., of Wilmington. Rev. Levi Bull per- 
formed the marriage in 1821. In 1818 Rev. Mr. Brinckle 
became rector of St. David's Church, Radnor, Pennsyl- 
vania, when he was twenty-two years old, and served 
the parish fourteen years, being also rector of St. Peter's, 
Great Valley, for twelve of these years. He had charge 
of a number of churches in Delaware County, Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1832 he assumed the rectorship of Grace 
Church, Philadelphia, remaining there two years. In 
1834 he became assistant to Rev. Dr. Jehu C. Clay in 
the Swedish Churches of St. James's, Kingsessing, and 
Wicacoa, that is Gloria Dei, in Philadelphia, and Christ 
Church, Upper Merion, afterward becoming rector of 
the country churches named, and holding them thirteen 
years and a half. In 1848 on the beautiful Brandy wine 
Creek, near Wilmington, he organized Christ Church, 



222 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

Christiana Hundred, and a stone church of goodly 
appearance arose, which was rilled by a flourishing con- 
gregation. Here he ended his honored and useful life 
on earth on the twelfth of March, A. D. 1863, at the 
age of sixty-seven, dying in the forty-fifth year of his 
ministry, or shall we not say entering on a new life 
before God?. — From ''Early Clergy of Pennsylvania 
and Delaware." 

We next find Rev. Simon Wilmer in the rectorship of 
St. David's for a short time. He was the father of the 
Bishop of Louisiana. 

His first parish was on the eastern shore of Maryland, 
where he was settled from 1805 to 1808, in which year 
he was called to Swedesboro, New Jersey, and he labored 
there until 1820. He then took a parish on the eastern 
shore of Virginia. In 1824 he was called back to 
Swedesboro. He frequently had charge of three or 
four churches at once. When officiating at Radnor, St. 
Peter's Church in the Valley was also under his care. 
He was once rector of St Matthew's Church in Phila- 
delphia. This good and fatherly clergyman was born 
in Kent County, Maryland, Dec. 25, 1779. The Rev. 
Christmas Evans took his name from the fact that he 
was born on Christmas day, and it seems a happy birth- 
day for a clergyman whose mission is to treat of the 
birth and life of his Saviour. Mr. Wilmer died in 
Charles County, Maryland on the twentieth of May, A. 
D. 1840. He was very earnest and was active in his 
sacred labors. He died when he was rector of Christ 
Church, Prince George's County, and St. John's Chapel, 
Charles County, Maryland. 

Mr. Wilmer w r as a leader among his brethren. He 
was a friend and supporter of Alexandria Theological 
Seminary in Virginia, and was a friend of the venerable 



"RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVIDS. 223 

Bishop Chase of Ohio. His Christian character shone 
out in his earnest life work. 

The Rev. William Henry Rees, D. D., was the next 
rector, resigning in 1838. The church prospered under 
his care. He was of medium height, a good faithful 
worker and preacher, and a bright, intelligent, cordial 
Christian. A son, who pleasantly recalls the blessed 
memory of early childhood in this parish, gives me 
details of his father's life. Dr. Rees was a native of 
Philadelphia, born in 1805, and studied under Rev. 
James Wiltbank, at the Episcopal Academy, and was 
in the University of Pennsylvania, being a classmate of 
Prof. Henry Reed. He graduated at Alexandria Theo- 
logical Seminary when only twenty years old, and 
studied with Bishop White, until he was ordained dea- 
con by the bishop when twenty-one years of age. He 
became assistant to Dr. Bedell at St. Andrew's, and then 
rector of St. James the Greater, Bristol, Pa. His next 
parish was Trinity Church, Elkton, Md., St. David's, 
Radnor was his next field of labor. His other rector- 
ates were St. Paul's, West Whiteland, in connection 
with St. Peter's, Great Valley, in Pennsylvania, All 
Hallows' Parish, Worcester County, Maryland, St. 
John's, New Milford, Conn., St. Luke's, Rossville, Sta- 
ten Island, Christ Church, Upper Merion, Pa., Calvary 
Church, Summit, N. J., and St. Phillip's Church, New- 
ark, N. J., under Bishop Odenheimer. When in poor 
health, he performed occasional services to within a 
short time of his death, on Sept. 3, A. D. 1869. He 
was buried under the shadow of St. James's Church, 
Bristol. Dr. Rees was the president of Mount Vernon 
Institute in Chester County, Pa. I noticed on his tomb- 
stone the words, " Simply to Thy Cross I Cling." 

The Rev. Willie or Wiley Peck, was the rector of St. 



224 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

David's next in succession. He resigned in 1845. ^ e 
was tall in stature. The Diocesan Journal shows that 
in 1846 Bishop Potter gave letters dimissory to this 
clergyman to Mississippi. The Rev. N. Logan, of 
Vicksburg, writes me that in the same year Bishop 
Otey's address notes his reception. He was tempo- 
rarily in charge of Trinity Church, Natchez. The next 
year he was transferred to Louisiana. The present old 
rectory was built in Mr. Peck's day. Mr. Peck was 
ordained by Bishop B. T. Onderdonk in 1834, and died 
in 1847. 

The following letter is from the Reverend Secretary 
of the Council of the Diocese of Louisiana : 

In the history of this Diocese, written two years ago 
by your correspondent, under head of Christ Church, 
Covington, I find as follows : 

''In 1846 the Rev. Wiley Peck organized a parish in 
Covington. Work on the church was at once com- 
menced. There were but few that were interested and 
they were in moderate circumstances. But with willing 
hearts they found the means to build God's House, with 
* little or no assistance' beyond the local contributions. 
In less than a twelvemonth a neat church was completed 
and presented for consecration, April 11, 1847. In that 
year also, the rectory was built. While devoting himself 
to the sick, poor and dying of the parish, Mr. Peck fell a 
victim to the deadly malady — yellow fever — then 
epidemic. He was of a warm and affectionate dispo- 
sition, and his devotion to duty enshrined his memory 
in the hearts of his people." 

Bishop Polk in his Convention Address of 1848 said : 
"The Rev. Wiley Peck who was with us on the last 
occasion of our conventional meeting, with as strong a 
probability as any of our own number of being spared 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 225 

many years for the Church's service, has been called to 
his account. He was cut down in the midst of his 
years and his usefulness, falling a victim to a deadly 
disease, while devoting himself to the relief of the sick, 
poor, and dying of his parish. In his warm and affec- 
tionate Christian heart, and his cordial devotion to the 
work of his Master, we cannot but remember qualities 
which endeared him to us while living, and now call for 
a record of our sorrow, that we should have been thus 
early deprived of his presence as a companion and fel- 
low laborer in the field which has been assigned to us." 
Eight of the clergy of this diocese were ordained by 
bishops of Pennsylvania, so that your proposed book 
might gather some materials from our Diocesan History. 
Others of our clergy have also resided in Pennsylvania. 

Fraternally, 

Herman C. Duncan. 

In 1846 Rev. Dr. William \V. Spear was rector of this 
church. He was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 
and received his theological education at the General 
Theological Seminary in New York City. He was first 
rector of St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia, and was rec- 
tor of Grace Church, Charleston, for several years. Dr. 
Spear is a writer of considerable power, and a man 
whose experience in the history of the American 
Church is interesting. He now resides at Ephratah, Pa. 
The Rev. Breed Batcheller was your next rector. 

Rev. Breed Batcheller was born in New Hampshire, 
and graduated at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, in 
that State, standing high in his knowledge of Greek. 
He was also a good Hebrew scholar. He was of fine 
personal appearance, being six feet and two inches in 
height and very' dignified, and yet having a gentleness 



226 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

proceeding from a naturally refined and amiable nature, 
joined with a high Christian character. 

He was ordained by Bishop Alonzo Potter, in Phila- 
delphia, in 1844 or 1845. St. David's was his first par- 
ish. Pie was universally beloved here, and when he 
went to Greensburg, in Western Pennsylvania, all re- 
gretted his departure. 

After several years' service there, he went to Dela- 
ware as rector of St. James's Church, Stanton, under 
saintly Bishop Lee. He also officiated at Newport. 
His name appears in the Diocesan Journals of Delaware, 
from 1850 to 1854. He'died in Baltimore in 1857, in 
the winter, being prostrated by pneumonia, His beau- 
tiful character and personal magnetism influenced all 
that met him, even little children who saw him but for a 
short interview. He w r as a pure spirit, who adorned 
the ministry by his faithful life of service to Christ. His 
manner was quiet. An excellent wife aided his work. 
He had one son and two daughters. One daughter 
married Hon. Nicholas Brewer, of Annapolis, Mary- 
land, and the other, Professor Johnson, of Baltimore. 
He once assisted the Rev. James H. Fowles, at Epiph- 
any Church, Philadelphia, and he had a school at 
Bristol. 

Mr. Batcheller lived at Brandyw r ine Springs and 
Christine, in Delaware, and officiated at Christ Church, 
Christiana Hundred, as well as at St. James's, Stanton 
and Brandywine Springs. Mrs. Batcheller died several 
years ago, and the son died in South America. Mr. 
Batcheller lived two years in Calvert County, Maryland, 
and did some clerical work when able, though he was 
ill most of the time. He is now in a land where they 
no more say, " I am sick." 

Rev. Dr. John A. Childs is noted by Mr. Halsey, 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVIDS. 227 

whose list I follow, as the succeeding rector. He is a 
Philadelphia!!, and a graduate of Princeton College. 
He studied law but afterward graduated at the General 
Theological Seminary, and was first settled at Wad- 
dington, St. Lawrence County, New York. He next 
became rector of St. Peter's, Lewes, Delaware, doing 
general church work in Sussex County, building St. 
Mark's Church, Millsboro', and the Chapel of the Holy 
Comforter, which was a Chapel of Ease of St. George's, 
Indian River. 

From Delaware he came to Radnor. He afterward 
settled in Philadelphia, assisting Bishop Potter in or- 
ganizing the Episcopal Hospital, doing church work 
and acting as bishop's Secretary and Secretary of the 
Convention, and of various ecclesiastical societies. He 
assisted Bishop Potter in organizing the Philadelphia 
Divinity School, of which he was a Professor, and is 
How Secretary of the Boards of the Institution. All 
that know this diocese are aware of the unflagging zeal 
and wise interest with which he has watched over this 
varied work for long years. 

The Rev. Henry Brown next meets us in the rector- 
ship. He was born in Philadelphia, and in childhood 
was a parishoner of the excellent Dr. Boyd, rector of 
St. John's, Northern Liberties, now under the care of 
Rev. George Latimer. Mr. Brown studied theology 
under Dr. Boyd and Dr. Piggot, of Maryland. He was 
head-master of an academy on the Eastern Shore of 
Maryland. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Onder- 
donk, in 1839, in Grace Church, Philadelphia, of which 
Dr. Suddards was rector. The Rev, Mr. Hallowell was 
ordained with him. Mr. Brown's first parish was Lewis- 
town, Pennsylvania, and his second was St. Paul's, Cen- 
treville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Thence he 



228 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

came to Radnor, where he remained four years and a 
half. He started a service in a hall on the Lancaster 
turnpike, and the pretty stone Church of the Redeemer 
arose with its tower. I always regret the loss of the 
picturesque English-looking church by the side of the 
railway, though its successor at Bryn Mawr is doing a 
noble work under the rectorship of Rev. James Haugh- 
ton. The Rev. Mr. Lycett should always be kept in 
remembrance for faithful work in that parish. He rests 
near the church wall in hope of a blessed resurrection. 
Mr. Brown went from Radnor to Beverly, New Jersey, 
and then became rector of St. Paul's, Chester, Pennsyl- 
vania, where for over twenty-seven years he has worked 
with great diligence and success in a growing town 
which demanded much toil. His Sunday-school work 
deserves special notice, as with Bible Classes it numbers 
over five hundred. 

(See Chester for further account of Mr. Brown's work.) 
Bishop Whittingham ordained Mr. Brown a priest in 
1 841. This rector was much beloved both in this par- 
ish and that of the Redeemer, which was then asso- 
ciated w r ith St. David's. 

From 1855 to 1861 Rev. Richardson Graham was 
rector of St. David's. He graduated at Kenyon Col- 
lege, Ohio, and the Alexandria Theological Seminary 
in Virginia ; and went to China as a missionary with his 
wife, Elizabeth, the accomplished daughter of Rev. Dr. 
Boyd. On his return to this country he became rector 
of Helena parish, Beaufort, S. C, and afterward of 
Edgefield and Wiltown in the same State. He then 
came to St. David's, Radnor, and on leaving this place 
w r as in charge of St. Andrew's Chapel, in Philadelphia, 
assisting Dr. (afterward bishop) Stevens. The chapel 
afterward became the Church of the Messiah, now 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 229 

under the Rev. Francis H. Bushnell, in South Broad ■ 
Street. Mr. Graham was afterward chaplain in the 
United States Hospital Service and rector of St. John's, 
Concord, Pennsylvania. He is now a missionary under 
the ecclesiastical authority of this diocese, residing in 
Frankford. 

From 1861, Rev. Thomas G. Clemson was rector of 
Radnor for five years. He was a native of Chester, 
Penna., and the son of Rev. Dr. John B. Clemson, who 
has long been widely known in the church. His 
maternal grandfather was Rev. Dr. Bull, a most worthy 
church clergyman in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 
Mr. Clemson was my room-mate in Trinity College, 
Hartford, Connecticut, and as a brother to me, and I 
delight in giving a loving tribute to his memory. He 
studied at Mr. Bolmar's School, in West Chester, 
where his father was once chaplain. When God called 
him to the ministry he entered Trinity College, and 
afterward studied theology in the Alexandria Seminary, 
in Virginia; Rev. Phillips Brooks was a class-mate. 
His first clerical work was at Holmesburg, Philadelphia, 
where he had charge of the parish in the absence of the 
rector, Dr. Lundy, for several months; and next he 
undertook similar work for a short time at St. John's, 
Wilmington, when the rector, Rev. Dr. Stevens Parker, 
was away from the parish for a time. Then Mr. Clem- 
son came here. I well remember announcing in this 
chancel his acceptance of your call. He was much 
loved by this flock. He was handsome in person and 
agreeable in manner, and a good sermon writer. Plis 
youth made him like a son to the older parishioners, 
who sympathize with those beginning clerical work. 
He foresaw the coming growth on the railway and held 
service at a school-house at Paoli, and, I believe, 



230 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

secured a lot on the turnpike for a projected chapel. He 
went hence to Morristown, New Jersey, to the Church 
of the Redeemer. He married Miss Ogden, of Wad- 
dington, New York, and his widow and daughters now 
reside in Media. From Morristown, Mr. Clemson went 
to Amsterdam, New York, and afterward to Clyde, in 
the same State, and then to Waddington, New York. 
Here he labored several years amidst an affectionate 
flock. At la'st sickness came, which was borne in 
patient Christian faith, though tears flowed when weak- 
ness forbade him to continue his loved Sunday-school 
work ; and soon " he was not, for God took him." His 
beloved seminary friend, Rev. T. PI. Cullen, of Free- 
hold, New Jersey, and myself laid him to rest in beauti- 
ful Laurel Hill. Six months after I stood by the death- 
bed of his only son, a brave Christian lad just com- 
mencing life's battle, but bidden by God to lay down 
his arms and join his father in Paradise. 

Mr. Clemson was ordained deacon by Bishop Lee, in 
Delaware, in 1859, and died at Waddington, New York, 
in 1888. The ivy on the church was planted in his 
rectorship. May it keep his memory green. 

If Mr. Clemson was as a son to the elder members of 
the parish, the following rector, Mr. Halsey, came here 
at an age and with a valuable experience, which made 
him as a father to all. 

William Frederick Halsey was a native of New York 
State, and was born in Plattsburgh, on March 24, 1807. 
He died in the rectory at Radnor, October 15, A. D. 
1882. His parents were Zophar and Eliza (Cooper) 
Halsey. He studied at Bristol College, Pennsylvania, 
and perhaps at Kenyon College, Ohio. He pursued 
the study^of theology at Lexington, Kentucky; Bishop 
Mcllvaine, of Ohio, ordained him in September, 1837. 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 23 I 

His first parish was Circleville, Ohio. I cannot give a 
list of all his parishes, but Mount Vernon, Ohio ; High- 
gate, Vermont ; Columbus, Mississippi; Sing Sing and 
Port Jarvis, New York, and Montrose, Pennsylvania, 
were among them. At Montrose he married Elizabeth 
Hannah Biddle, and this Christian lady died here on 
the 19th of February, 1881. Mr. Halsey held this rec- 
torship from i860 to 1882. He was versed in Mental 
Philosophy, and had taught in that favorite branch of 
his knowledge. Pie understood statesmanship, and was 
mechanical, having inventive talent. He had been hon- 
ored as the friend of many cultured people, and his 
anecdotes and experiences of life were interesting. His 
appearance was striking and dignified, and he was the 
beau-ideal of a clergyman. His mental power was more 
than ordinary, but his Christian character moves our 
thought to-day, for his abilities were laid at the foot of 
the Cross of Christ, and he now sleeps in your ancient 
churchyard, waiting the summons to rise with his be- 
loved flock at the Day of Judgment. The similarity in 
appearance and character between Dr. Buchanan, who 
was rector of Trinity Church, Oxford, while Mr. Halsey 
held Radnor, which was formerly associated with Ox- 
ford, often struck me. 

During Mr. Halsey's rectorship, Longfellow wrote 
his poem on the old church. It was a pretty sight 
when the aged rector, who had given his life to Christ's 
service, and the aged poet, who had lifted the thoughts 
in many a farm-house, stood together under these trees. 
The church and rector may remind one of good George 
Herbert, the English Country Parson, at Bemerton. 
The poem of Longfellow commences thus : 

"What an image of peace and rest 
Is this little church among its graves ! 



232 RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 

All is so quiet ; the troubled breast, 

The wounded spirit, the heart oppressed, 
Here may find the repose it craves.' ' 

The poem first appeared in Lippincotf s Magazine, 
June, A. D. 1880, with the picture which precedes this 
sermon in this volume. 

The son of this rector, Rev. James Biddle Halsey, 
continues his father's sacred work at Granite Falls, 
Minnesota. 

Your present rector, Rev. George A. Keller, assumed 
the rectorship on Septuagesima Sunday, January 21, 
A. D. 1883. He was born in Philadelphia, and edu- 
cated at a Public School and at St. John's School, in 
Camden, in charge of Rev. Theophilus M. Reilly. He 
graduated at St. Stephen's College, Annandale, New 
York, and studied at the General Theological Seminary 
in New York City. He became assistant minister at 
Christ Church, New York City, where he labored seven 
years, and he has been over seven years at Radnor. 
You know the good work he has done among you, and 
in another quarter of a century may another stand in 
this chancel and tell more of what he and his successors 
have done for Christ. 

A log church is said to have preceded this one of 
stone in which we meet to-day. At the great anniver- 
sary in Mr. Halsey's day Dr. Buchanan, and Dr. Childs, 
and Bishop Morris, and the Rev. Messrs. Brown and 
Clemson made addresses. King's Hand-book of Epis- 
copal Churches has a picture of St. David's and a brief 
historical sketch. 

Mr. Pleasant's pamphlet states that the ruins of the 
log house of Mr. Davis, where services were held, are 
on the Tryon Lewis place. This present church was 
built near a spring of water — let it remind us of the 



RADNOR (PA.) ST. DAVID'S. 233 

living water which Christ has here poured into many a 
thirsty soul. The earthly water is for a time, the 
spiritual water is everlasting. 

This church in the clerical associations has echoed 
the words of Dr. Bull, and Dr. Jehu C. Clay, and Dr. 
Richard Newton. Hundreds attended these services, 
which lasted three days. For a time after Mr. Batch- 
eller's rectorship, Rev. Thomas G. Allen served here. 
He was an earnest and Godly man, who deserves to be 
remembered. He wrote a good memoir of his brother, 
Rev. Benjamin Allen, the zealous rector of St. Paul's, 
Philadelphia. Thomas G. Allen was the father-in-law 
of Rev. Dr. Childs. 

Dr. William A. Muhlenberg first officiated as lay- 
reader in this church, reading a sermon from Gisborne 
on the Love of God. What a noble life of Christian 
work and influence succeeded this beginning. The 
rector's library here has one book marked John Hum- 
phrey, 1 7 13, and another with the name of the mission- 
ary, Alexander Howie, and the date 1737. The old 
leather binding indicates antiquity. 

Such relics bring the dead before us. Have their 
lives closed, and can we only recall them by the few 
words written and spoken to-day ? No, they have only 
begun, and their works are following them heavenward. 
What are you doing to imitate these rectors and share 
their heavenly joy ? Live such lives of Christian faith 
as they lived ; endow this church to continue their 
work, and do whatever Christian labor God puts into 
your hand in this fleeting life, which determines your 
eternal state ; and now draw near to the Holy Com- 
munion, feeling that you are uniting " with Angels " 
and the sainted dead, and with Christ Himself, as 
Charles Wesley sings : 
16 



234 SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. 

" One family, we dwell in Him ; 

One church above, beneath ; 
Though now divided by the stream, 

The narrow stream of death. 
One army of the living God, 

To His command we bow ; 
Part of His host has crossed the flood, 

And part is crossing now." 

SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. 
(communicated.) 

A VILLAGE PARISH OF RAPID GROWTH. 

Sayre bears the distinction of being the most northern 
parish of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. It is 
situated near the State line, on a level plain, lying be- 
tween the Susquehanna (north branch) and Chemung 
Rivers, having the old town of Athens as its near neigh- 
bor to the south, and Waverly, New York, to the north. 
The country itself is picturesque and interesting. The 
two beautiful rivers come flowing down, skirting high 
hills on either side, the one from the northeast, the 
other from the northwest, and unite their waters three 
miles to the south, forming what is historically known 
as Tioga Point. 

This Point was the gate of entry and exit for Indian 
traffic and Indian warfare, even up to the close of the 
last century ; the Susquehanna Valley /rom this place 
southward being the natural avenue of communication 
between the powerful Six Nations of New York and the 
tribes of the Wyoming Valley. At this point lived 
Queen Esther, of bloody memory. Here General Sul- 
livan, on his Indian raid, which followed the barbarous 
massacre at Wyoming, encamped and awaited the army 
of General Clinton, before they proceeded northward 



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SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. • 235 

with their united forces of 50C0 men to punish savage 
cruelty and assert the majesty of the Nation's laws. 
Here in 1790 Colonel Timothy Pickering, as Commis- 
sioner for the United States, met in council delegates 
from the Six Nations, and entered into a treaty whereby 
the Indians ceded their hunting grounds in this section. 
Very few Indians were seen here after this event. 
But they have left us their mementoes : 

. ''Their name is on our waters, we may not wash it out." 

From this time the country began to be developed; 
but the day of the Church was long delayed, inasmuch 
as the early settlers w r ere Connecticut sectarians, and 
looked upon all churchmen as royalists per se. 

The wagon-road as an avenue for commerce was 
succeeded in part by the North Branch and Chemung 
Canal, which was completed in 1856, and the canal was 
superseded by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1869. 
From this time the development was rapid. The railroad 
company in 1871 decided to place its northern division 
repair shops between Waverly and Athens, and to build 
a town for the accommodation of its employees. This 
was the origin of Sayre, which w T as so named in honor 
of Robert H. Sayre, who, by the way, prophesied that this 
plain would some day be covered by a city. 

Sayre is purely a railroad town. The people are 
industrious and intelligent. Their homes are new, com- 
fortable, and picturesque. 

In 1876 Mr. Robert A. Packer took up his abode here, 
built himself a costly residence, and on May 10th, 1877, 
with others, organized a parish under the name of 
Church of the Redeemer. The beginnings were small; 
a few communicants, a vestry necessarily partly secta- 
rian, and worship held in a room over a store. 



236 SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. 

The next advance was to take a small building'which 
had served for a station restaurant, and convert it into a 
temporary church, which was done very successfully. 
This building now serves the purpose of a parish build- 
ing. 

The first clergyman to administer the Sacraments was 
the Rev. J. A. Brown, who was present at the organiza- 
tion of the parish, and in May, 1877, presented three 
candidates to Bishop Howe for confirmation, and in June 
of the same year baptized seven infants. 

In May, 1877, the Rev. George F. Rosenmuller was 
called as the first rector, who also served the parish at 
Athens, which had been started in 1843 and incorporated 
December 3d, 1S61. Mr. Rosenmuller remained until the 
Autumn of 1882. Under his administration fifty-five 
were baptized, and twenty-seven confirmed. 

The Rev. William B. Morrow, Mus. B., was next 
called. He served the parish about four years. During 
his rectorate eighty-eight persons were baptized, and 
thirty-eight confirmed. 

It was during Mr. Morrow's rectorship that Mr. 
Packer had plans drawn for a stone church. It was his 
intention to present a church and rectory to the parish, 
together with a handsome endowment. His early and 
sudden death prevented the consummation of his gen- 
erous plans. 

After Mr. Morrow's leaving, the parish was vacant for 
eight months. In October, 1887, the Rev. Leighton 
Coleman, D.D., who had just returned from a length- 
ened sojourn in England, was called to the parish. Mrs. 
Charles H. Cummings, the sister of the late Robert A. 
Packer, had determined to assume her brother's place 
in benefactions to the Church of the Redeemer, and gave 
Dr. Coleman directions to erect a stone church, for 



SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. 237 

which purpose she gave $33,000. She also promised to 
give a generous amount each year towards the rector's 
salary. 

The corner-stone of the new church was laid by Bishop 
Howe, assisted by Bishop Rulison, in June, 1888. 

Dr. Coleman, though here for only one year, being 
called to the Bishopric of Delaware, did a phenomenal 
work in reviving the life of the parish, which had suffered 
from the vacancy and other causes, and in instilling new 
life, and extending the Church's influence. He baptized 
seventy-four infants and adults, and presented in his one 
class for confirmation thirty-seven candidates. 

With the first Sunday in Advent, 1888, the present rec- 
tor, the Rev. Charles Mortimer Carr, M. A., began his 
rectorship, which for nearly a year was largely occupied 
with the supervision of the building and completion of 
the church. The church was finally consecrated on the 
twenty-fourth of September, 1889, by the Rt. Rev. N. S. 
Rulison. It is a beautiful piece of Gothic architecture, 
designd by Charles M. Burns, of Philadelphia, remind- 
ing one of some of the English village churches. It is 
constructed of Barclay stone, a light-colored conglom- 
erate, and is finished on the inside with brick and iron. 
The furniture is all of the finest quartered oak. The 
harmony of color within is especially pleasing, at once 
suggestive of reverent worship. To the right of the 
chancel is an " Invalids' Chapel," to which, on the out- 
side, an inclined plane leads, provided for the accommo- 
dation of convalescing patients from the Robert Packer 
Hospital, the residence formerly of Mr. Packer, which is 
opposite the church. This chapel has a separate chancel 
and altar, and is used for early communions. Beneath 
the main chancel is a mortuary chapel, providing accom- 
modations for those patients who die at the hospital. 



238 SAYRE (C.) THE REDEEMER. 

At the northwest corner of the church stands a massive 
square tower in which is a clock and bell which strike 
the hours. 

During one year and ten months the present rector 
has baptized seventy persons, and presented forty-one 
for confirmation. 

This parish is an instance of rapid and steady growth. 
It has, it is true, had the good fortune to have a wealthy 
family interested in it; but the town is new, the first 
houses having been built in 1874, and as yet numbers 
only 3300 souls, and has always been chiefly sectarian. 
When these things are considered, the statistics for the 
thirteen years of the parish's existence are remarkable. 
Two hundred and ninety-five have been baptized, one 
hundred and forty-six confirmed, and two hundred and 
ten communicants have been connected with the parish, 
the present number being one hundred and thirty, not 
more than six of whom were reared in the church. 
Curiously, too, the present rector was of Methodist 
descent, and his wife, Presbyterian. This parish illus- 
trates the power of the American Church over American 
sectarianism by means of her reverent services, and her 
insistance upon the sacramental character of Chris- 
tianity. 

The Rev. Charles Mortimer Carr was born in Hobo- 
ken, N. J., August 1 2th, 1857, was graduated B. A. from 
St. Stephen's College in 18S1, and from the General 
Theological Seminary in 1S84. He was ordained deacon 
the same year and priest the following year by Bishop 
Starkey. Before going to Sayre he assisted the Rev. 
Henry L. Jones of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkesbarre, 
for three years, having charge of two missions, viz., St. 
Andrew T 's, Alden, and St George's, Nanticoke, building 
a church at the latter place. 



TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL. 239 

TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL, 

The main object of this book has been to narrate the 
lives of the clergy, and in following out the history of 
some parishes the number of clergy treated of has been 
large, but we now meet with the most striking case of 
fewness of clergy on our list. In 1887, Rev. Dr. 
Henry Purdon delivered an Historical Address, which 
lies before me, on the twenty-fiith anniversary of his 
rectorship. Pie has now been rector for twenty-eight 
years, and is the first rector. How many of our parishes 
could match this history, which speaks well for a devoted 
pastor and a loving and appreciative flock ! May this 
blessed relation continue until God calls the rector to 
Paradise, and may it be noted, in these days of changing 
rectorates, that one parish and one rector knew how to 
live together for a lifetime. The rector here carries out 
the old legal idea in ecclesiastical history that he is the 
parson, that is, the persona ecclesit?, or representative of 
the church, and his life is intertwined with that of his 
parish, as the life of husband and wife seem sometimes 
almost undistin^uishablv mingled in common cares and 
pleasures. 

The Memorial Sermon was delivered before the bishop 
and the members of the Northern Convocation and 
a large congregation. The text was I Cor. 2 : 2: — "I 
determined not to know anything among you save Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified." The success of a quarter of 
a century of faithful Christian work showed that the text 
was fitly chosen; for by what name may a church grow 
great except by the power of that Divine name of Jesus 
which is above every other name in heaven and earth. 
The church is a memorial to the saintly Bishop Bowman. 
It was called St. James in honor of the parish of that 



240 TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL. 

name which he served in Lancaster. This quiet, but 
strong man examined Dr. Purdon for admission to the 
diaconate. In i860, at a meeting of the Western Convo- 
cation in Altoona, the historical sermon, which we now 
follow, states that Dr. Page read an essay on itineracy, 
and Rev. Jubal Hodges and Dr. Oliver made a report 
concerning the churches in the convocation, naming 
among points needing attention, Titusville, "the center 
of the oil regions, abounding in wealth and population." 
In 1861 Bishop Bowman visited the oil regions. He died 
while walking along the railway, and his death stirred 
the whole diocese with the feeling of personal loss in 
that unexpected stroke. The clergy placed a monument 
at the spot where he was found dead, which can be seen 
from the car-windows near Freeport, with its inscription, 
"The time is short; be ye also ready." The senior 
bishop appealed for funds to be raised, on a Fast Day 
appointed by the President, for a Memorial Church to 
honor the devoted bishop. In 1862, Mr. Purdon was 
appointed by Bishop Potter to serve Franklin and Titus- 
ville. A goodly sum had been raised for a church at 
Titusville, and Bishop Potter esteemed the opening work 
there important. Mr. Purdon went to Meadville and 
took Mr. Byllesby's place for a month, that he might 
have a vacation. Mr. Byllesby and Mr. (afterward 
Bishop) Spalding, at Erie, were the only clergy then 
with Mr. Purdon in what is now the Northern Convoca- 
tion of Pittsburgh. Still hope was ardent, if "it was 
truly a day of small things." The story of the town is 
a romance such as could hardly be conceived in staid 
England, or even quiet Pennsylvania. The growth was 
like that of a western city, or a California town. Oil 
was indeed gold to these active settlers, but the clergy- 
men did not mingle in the wild speculations of the 



TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL. 241 

hour, but held forth inducements to a harder race and a 
better and more lasting reward when earth and its bau- 
bles should be burned. The new young rector first 
held a service in the old brick church at Franklin which 
had been beautified by energetic ladies who are ever 
foremost in Christ's service. On first reaching Titusville 
borough he saw the wondrous beginnings of an oil 
town. A few hundred people were collected, and as 
many more strangers had rushed for wealth, "where oil 
w r as first struck on August 27th, 1859." There were no 
railways. "A dreary stage ride to Union, a distance of 
sixteen miles," touched a connection with the P. & E. 
R. R., then partly built. In some parts of the year the 
stage averaged about a mile an hour. The oil teams cut 
up the poor roads. " Common comforts of life were 
denied," but money-seekers were ready to go without 
them. Religion was neglected, and the LordVday dis- 
honored, by the majority. There were few church peo- 
ple, but some warmly welcomed the missionary, and 
encouraged him. "Tfte late Colonel E. L. Drake" and 
his wife are named among these, and that lady proved 
very helpful in the organization of the church. After 
the first Sunday, Crittenden Hall was used for services, 
and the missionary divided his time between Franklin 
and Titusville, occasionally going to Tionesta. The 
horseback ride from Tionesta to Franklin was thirty - 
miles. For nine months Mr. Purdon lived at Franklin, 
the county seat of Venango County, and every fortnight 
in summer he would leave Franklin for Titusville on 
horseback at three o'clock to avoid the heat of the sun 
in later riding. " Jonathan Watson, and his partner, the 
late Ebenezer Brewer, of Pittsburgh," were very helpful 
to the new parish. Others will be remembered with 
honor in the community for their benevolent aid, and 



242 TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL. 

some have gone to their reward. Mr. Brewer had lived in 
Titusville, and was interested in it, though he was a mem- 
ber of St. Andrew's, Pittsburgh. In June, 1862, Bishop 
Stevens visited Titusville. The larger part of the funds 
raised for a memorial to Bishop Bowman was given to 
Titusville, though a portion went to Warren to assist in 
the construction of Trinity Memorial Church. The 
Society for the Advancement of Christianity in Pennsyl- 
vania also made a donation toward the new church. ' In 
1863, Dr. Purdon became rector. The congregation has 
been fluctuating owing to the changing character of the 
population. The grounds of the church were bought 
of Mr. Watson. Emlen T. Littell, of New York, kindly 
gave the plans of the church as the contribution of an 
architect. In 1863, Bishop Stevens laid the corner-stone. 
The building is of stone, and is a beautiful one. It was 
consecrated by Bishop Potter in 1864. Rev. Dr. William 
Preston, of St. Andrew's Church, Pittsburgh, preached 
the sermon. Bishop Bowmans's daughter, the wife of 
Bishop Vail, presented the communion service of solid 
silver. St. James's Church, Lancaster, and Bishop 
Clarkson gave windows to commemorate Bishop Bow- 
man. Rev. Dr. J. C. Eccleston gave the Bible, inscribed, 
"The memory of the just is blessed." 

The rector believed in the future of the town and built 
accordingly. The chapel was erected the same year the 
church was opened. Improvements w r ere made in the 
passing years. The sermon contains loving tributes to 
Bishops Potter and Kerfoot. The first organist, "the 
late Prof. Charles Fitzsimmons, of New York, a loved 
pupil of the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg," is noticed. A rec-, 
tory was built, and in 1869 the rector took his bride into 
it, and found her a valued assistant in the parish as well 
as a joy in the household, and many a rector could echo 



TITUSVILLE (P.) ST. JAMES'S MEMORIAL. 243 

this true testimony. Dr. W. B. Roberts is mentioned 
with honor as having paid a church debt. In 1881 the 
rector went to Europe for three months, his brethren 
taking his duties. The vacation was earned. This quiet 
and unostentatious work in peaceful observance of 
Church law by rector and people deserves a word of com- 
mendation. The old faith of Christ has done good work 
in this new town, and the citizens have honored the rector 
by giving him positions of responsibility, and seeking his 
guidance outside of the church. The fellow clergy, on 
the occasion of the anniversary which caused the sermon, 
testified their love to the rector by a gift, presented by 
Rev. Dr. A. W. Ryan, of Warren, and Bishop Whitehead 
made a happy speech of congratulation. The rector 
closes his sermon in calling down the blessing of "the 
God of peace " on his flock ; may the large town have the 
constant blessing which the small village possessed in the 
beginning of the arduous work now so happily advanced, 

Dr. Purdon was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 15th 
of August, 1835; entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 
1853, but owing to his father's death, and the breaking 
up of the old home, was unable to continue his studies, 
and so came to this country in the fall of 1854. Acting 
on the advice of the late Bishop Alonzo Potter, he 
entered Union College in Schenectady, in 1855, and 
graduated in 1857, receiving three years later the degree 
of A.M. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1859, 
by the late Bishop William J. Boone, and to the priest- 
hood by the late Bishop William B. Stevens, in St. 
James's Church, Lancaster, on the 6th of April, 1862. 

The Theological Faculty of Kenyon College gave 
this rector the title " D.D." Whittaker placed a sermon 
by Dr. Purdon in the second volume of "Living Voices 
by Living Men." * 



244 TOWANDA (C.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

TOWANDA (C.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

Rev. B. J. Douglass has prepared an account of this 
parish which will guide this narrative. Towanda is the 
county seat of Bradford County, and is beautifully 
located on a hillside, on the North Branch of the Susque- 
hanna. The Rev. Samuel Marks, in 1824, occasionally 
visited this town for services. He was a missionary of the 
Advancement Society. In 1833, Rev. Samuel T. Lord, 
another missionary of this Society, held service once in 
four weeks, being employed also at Athens. The old 
Court House was the place of service, and the Sunday- 
school met in the "fire-proof building" of the county. 
Mahlon C. Mercur and Orrin D. Bartlett were zealous 
teachers. Mr. Lord's work continued until 1835. In 1840, 
Rev. Robert G. Hays was rector and he caused funds to 
be raised for a frame church, which was finished in 1842. 
This year Rev. George Watson became rector. Bishop 
Onderdonk consecrated the church in 1842. Rev. Asa C. 
Colton was rector in 1845, but in 1847 Rev. Robert J. Par- 
vin succeeded him, and he was followed by Rev. Benjamin 
J. Douglass in 1850. Benjamin S. Russell was the faith- 
ful Sunday-school Superintendent. "The names of E. 
T. Fox, S, W. Alvord, and S. B. Rodgers are those of 
noble and self-denying women who labored in this work 
of faith," and the Sunday-school fed the Confirmation 
Classes. Mr. Russell used to layread in schoolhouses, 
acting as a missionary. The North-east Convocation 
was a center of missionary zeal under the guidance of 
Bishop Potter, and its meetings w T ere delightful. The 
rector of Towanda visited Dushore, where Rev. De Witt 
Clinton Byllesby was at w T ork, and Jones's Lake, now 
Eaglesmere. Deer were then to be found in that wild 
region. The companion of the rector was Rev. Abner 




CHRIST CHURCH, TOWANDA. 



T0WANDA (C.) CHRIST CHURCH. 245 

P. Brush, afterward rector of Muncy, Pa., and later of 
Bath, N. Y., who was in Mr. Douglass's family when 
preparing for Orders. His "cheerful spirit" enlivened 
the journies. He is now dead. The Rev. Hale Town- 
send aided Mr. Douglass in this work in the wilderness, 
preaching, and frequently giving services at Laporte. 
In 1866, a revival of religious interest awakened the 
region of Towanda, and the evenings of weekdays would 
be observed by religious services. Churches and school- 
houses were densely crowded. There were not enough 
religious workers to supply the need. Laymen used to 
serve at schoolhouses. At one schoolhouse Mr. Doug- 
lass found eighty persons who expressed a desire by the 
help of God "to lead a new life." The interest was 
not accompanied by noise or excitement, but fell as 
gentle dew on grass, and God's still voice awakened 
hearts. The Holy Spirit was blowing as the wind where 
it would. In 1866 Mr. Douglass closed his work in this 
parish, and fifty-five adults were confirmed by Bishop 
Vail, "acting for Bishop Stevens." This class was 
largely the fruit "of this genuine outpouring of the 
Spirit." The clergyman's wife, Elizabeth Stott Douglass, 
formerly Miss Wetherill, of Philadelphia, greatly aided 
her husband in the work in the parish. This saintly 
woman entered Paradise in 1859. 

The author of this volume would add that Mr. Douglass 
was the son of Rev. Jacob M. and Sarah Johnson Doug- 
lass. He was born near Chester, Pa., in 1825, and 
studied at Thomas D. James's academy, in Philadelphia, 
and the University of Pennsylvania, where he took the 
second honor in graduating in 1845. He assisted Dr. 
Hare in teaching in the Episcopal Academy. In 1848 
Bishop Potter ordained him deacon in St. Matthew's 
Church, Francisville, and in the same church, by the 



246 TOWANDA (C.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

same bishop, he was ordained priest in 1850. He was at 
first assistant minister to Dr. Hare in this church, and 
then became rector of Towanda, but, in 1866, went to 
Europe, returning the next year, and taking the rector- 
ship of St. Paul's, Columbia, Pa. In 1871, he became 
rector of St. Paul's Church, Georgetown, Delaware, and 
resigned that position in 1884. He now resides in Phila- 
delphia. 

To continue the narrative of Mr. Douglass, concerning 
Towanda parish, Rev. Francis D. Hoskins succeeded 
him as rector from 1866 to 1868. Bishop Stevens laid 
the corner-stone of the new church in 1868. 

Francis D. Hoskins, born in Philadelphia. Educated 
at Episcopal Academy and University of Pennsylvania. 
Graduate of Theological Seminary of Virginia. 

(1) Rector of St. John's, Lancaster, 1861 to 1864; 
Grace Church, Honesdale, Pa., 1864 to 1866; Christ 
Church, Towanda, Pa., 1866 to 1869; Grace Church, 
Elmira, N. Y., 1869 to 1883; Trinity Church, Swedes- 
boro, N. J., 1883 to 1884; Warden, and Professor, Sea- 
bury Divinity School, Faribault, Minn., 1885 to 1888. 
Since then residing in Philadelphia. 

Ordained deacon 1861, by Bishop Bowman, and 
piiest by Bishop Stevens, 1862, 

Rev. William E. McGlathery succeeded Mr. Hoskins 
in 1870. In 1873, Rev. Charles Ewbank Mcllvaine, the 
son of Bishop Mcllvaine, became rector. He died in 
1876, and his congregation lamented their great loss. 
He lies in the burial ground of Old Swedes' Church, 
(Holy Trinity), Wilmington, Delaware, by the side 
of Bishop Lee, w T hose son-in-law he was. A depu- 
tation of the Vestry, and Rev. Messrs. Hoskins, and A. 
A. Marple took part in the burial service. (See Norris- 
town, for further notice of this rector.) In 1877, Rev. 



rouoNTOWN (p.) st. peter's. 247 

John S. Beers entered on the rectorship. In his rector- 
ship the church was altered. In 1882, Rev. Edgar A. 
Enos was elected rector. He is now in Troy, N. Y.; 
Rev. William E. Wright succeeds him. The beautiful 
church which had lingered so long in building was com- 
pleted in this rectorship. The edifice is of stone. Mr. 
Clark B. Porter manfully assumed the pecuniary respon- 
sibility in this great undertaking. The Rev. Percy J. 
Robottom succeeded Mr. Wright. He is now rector of 
St. James's Church, Lancaster, Pa. 

Mr. Douglass recalls with pleasure the many years 
spent among a loving people where his first rectorship 
was parsed. Judges Wilmot and Mercur, and Elwell, 
and Christopher S, Ward, David F. Barstow, and John 
Adams, were among the parishioners of that day. This 
former rector closes his manuscript with the hope that 
the new church may have more blessings than the old, 
and the succession of spiritual worshipers fill its walls 
in coming years. 

UNIONTOWN (P.) ST. PETER'S. 

Rev. Richard S. Smith, the rector of this parish, has 
kindly aided my historical work and was for several 
years Registrar of the Diocese. (Rev. Laurens McLure 
is now Registrar.) In 1887, Mr. Smith preached a ser- 
mon "on the 25th anniversary of his taking charge of 
the parish," which was printed. It contains a useful 
sketch of the history of the Church in the United States, 
and especially in the Diocese of Pittsburg. I will draw r 
some facts of parish history from it. In 1837, the year 
after Bishop White died, Rev. I. I. Kerr "held a ser- 
vice in the Presbyterian Church," and the next year the 
church was organized ; Rev. J. L. Mcllhenny and Rev. 
Mr. Arnett ministered here for a time. In 1842, a brick 



248 UPPER MERIOX (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

church was built. "The legs" of the seats in this 
church "were made of the spokes of the wheels of the 
old stage coaches." They had been used in a place 
where the people had temporarily worshiped. Bishop 
Onderdonk consecrated the church. A communion 
service was given by Philadelphia friends. A former 
member of St. Peter's, now in Minneapolis, has pre- 
sented a bell, as the first one was borrowed. In 1844, 
Mr. Arnett resigned, and Rev. S. W. Compton succeeded 
him. There was lay-reading during a vacancy. Rev. 
Norris M. Jones and Rev. Thomas Lawson followed. 
From 185 1 to 1853, Rev. Dr. T. S. Rumney, now of St. 
Peter's, Germantown, was rector, with a short interreg- 
num. In 1856, Rev. Thomas Wilcoxson succeeded him, 
and Rev. Faber Byllesby was rector from 1857 to 1859. 
In 1862, the present rector began his faithful work, 
also serving New Haven, Mt. Braddock and Menallen. 
A rectory was bought in Uniontown. In 1866, Bishop 
Kerfoot sent Rev. G. C. Rafter as assistant. For a time 
Rev. Mr. Hayden and Rev. Mr. Day served Menallen, 
though it is now under Mr. Smith's care. 

UPPER MERIOX (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

One of the ancient churches which still adorn the 
country districts, is the Old Swedes' Church near the 
town of Bridgeport, opposite Norristown, on the Schuyl- 
kill River. The passenger on the Reading Railway 
is struck with the appearance of the ancient temple and 
its surrounding graveyard, which contains the tombs of 
those who worshiped in those sacred walls in by-gone 
days, but have now passed beyond earthly worship into 
a higher kind of service in Paradise. These old grave- 
yards, surrounding a country church, add a deep and 
solemn interest to the place, as some mourners are seen 




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UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 249 

dropping tears with their flowers on a new-made grave, 
or a descendant comes from a distance to look on the 
tomb of an ancestor, and wonder how he lived and loved, 
and suffered and died, in this brief life of ours. If, on 
a summer's day, the eye rests on the white tombstones 
as we pray in the Te Deum " to be numbered with Thy 
saints in glory everlasting," we may almost imagine that 
we hear the echo of our song from those who are lying 
so still without, under the shadow of the house of God, 
and this close connection with the holy dead is to us as 
a "gate of heaven." 

In my volume on the early clergy of Pennsylvania 
and Delaware, I have given at length the history of the 
noble Swedish missionaries, to whom these Episcopal 
parishes which were handed over to the American 
Church, owe their existence under God. The Swedish 
parishes at Wilmington, Delaware, and in Swedesboro, 
and Penn's Neck, in New Jersey, and at Gloria Dei and 
Kingsessing, in Philadelphia, and at Bridgeport, all be- 
came portions of the dioceses in which they are situated. 
The Swedish laymen were a faithful race, and some 
excellent families in- Philadelphia are descended from 
them. 

The relations of the Swedish and English mission- 
aries were close and cordial, and they officiated in 
each other's churches, and sometimes Swedish mission- 
aries served English parishes when missionaries were 
scarce. The Swedish Church was styled "a sister of 
the English Church." 

One of the most eminent of the Swedish missionaries 
was the Provost and Doctor Carolus Magnus Von 
Wrangel. He returned to the Old Country in 1768. 
He belonged to the family of General Von Wrangel, an 
officer in the army of Gustavus Adolphus. He studied 
1 7 



250 UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

in Sweden at Westeras and at Upsala, and at the Uni- 
versity of Gottingen, in Germany. He was court 
preacher in the royal chapel at Stockholm, when Arch- 
bishop Samuel Troilius requested him to go on the 
American mission. This active and influential man 
reorganized the churches, for the Provost was a sort of a 
bishop in the power of arranging such matters. He 
taught the young with zeal, and "gave the first impulse 
to the establishment of the Society for the Faith and 
Christianity in Sweden." Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg wel- 
comed him as his guest at the Trappe, and says : "I 
was greatly moved by his mild and humble manners, 
and edified by his weighty conversation relative to the 
kingdom of God." Dr. Muhlenberg visited Von Wran- 
gel at Wicacoa, and participated in a Ministerial Con- 
vention. Dr. Von Wrangel preached on "The import- 
ance of the Holy Supper." He also preached a sermon 
in the Swedish language, from Psalm 126 : 5 — "They 
that sow in tears shall reap in joy." The Holy Supper 
was received "with deep solemnity." The Provost 
guarded the church in suffering and victory. He com- 
mended pastoral visiting, as w 7 ell as catechizing ; and 
wished the Holy Sacraments to be extolled in an evan- 
gelical manner. He stated his purpose to explain 
Christ's life in "private meetings and catechetical exer- 
cises with the children." He could preach in Swedish, 
German and English, and he addressed the candidates 
for the ministry in Latin. The corner-stone of St. 
James's Church, Kingsessing, w r as laid by him in 1760. 
He caused that church and Christ Church, Upper 
Merion, to be set off as distinct parishes from Wicacoa, 
with the erection of churches for each parish. Such 
crowds attended his eloquent preaching that he some- 
times preached in the open air. He died in 1786. A 



UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 251 

sketch of this great scholarly and devout man is here 
given, as it was under him that the parish under con- 
sideration became independent, and secured the posses- 
sion of a church building. 

All the clergy of Gloria Dei should possess an interest 
in the minds of the parishioners of Christ Church, for 
that was their spiritual mother, and its clergy guided 
their ancestors in the pleasant ways of Christian truth. 
The vine planted by the Swedish Church centuries ago 
on the banks' of the Delaware still bears precious fruit to 
the glory of God in Christ, in Christ Church on the 
Schuylkill. The Rev. A. A. Marple has long faithfully 
served this parish. 

In the History of New Sweden, by the Rev. Provost, 
Israel Acrelius, translated from the Swedish by Rev. Dr. 
William Reynolds, is a sketch of the history of the 
churches at Kingsessing and Upper Merion by Rev. Dr. 
W. M. Reynolds. It states that the early Swedes spread 
into West Jersey and Delaware, and the Eastern Shore 
of Maryland, while they were also settled along the 
Delaware River in Pennsylvania, as well as on the river 
Schuylkill. The good Swedish missionaries, aided by 
the mother church, followed the emigrants, bringing 
with them the blessings of the Church of Christ and the 
Word of God. The narrative, which I shall here follow, 
describes how the English language swept out the Swed- 
ish, and the English churches absorbed many of the 
Swedes. Still at Kingsessing and Upper Merion the 
native language was long retained, and the churches 
were Swedish in their type. In 1765, St. James's Church, 
Kingsessing, and Christ Church, Upper Merion, were 
formed into parishes, distinct from Wicacoa, though for a 
long time after this they kept up "the closest connection" 
with the mother church, at Wicacoa. This was effected 



252 UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

by Rev. Provost, Dr. Wrangel, already spoken of. He 
lived for years on intimate terms of Christian friendship 
with Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg, the eminent Lutheran min- 
ister of that day. Together they visited Tinicum Island, 
where the early Swedes established their Christian wor- 
ship. They were entertained by Mr. John Tailor, an 
Englishman who had been a Quaker, but who had been 
baptized by Dr. Wrangel, and ''Christian conversation 
and prayer" improved the evening hours to edification, 
until the time of rest came. The site of the old church 
and the old graveyard were very interesting remains of 
the past, and church people should visit the spot now. 
This new land has holy shrines as well as the old coun- 
try. Provost Von Wrangel continued his interest in the 
Swedish churches after he returned to Sweden. His 
activity is shown in the charter he procured from the Pro- 
prietary Government of Pennsylvania for the churches 
at Wicacoa, Kingsessing, and Upper Merion, in 1765, 
while the churches at both Kingsessing and Upper Mer- 
ion were built by him. The charter is given in the 
appendix of Clay's Annals of the Swedes. In 1787, the 
State Government confirmed it "with some slight 
changes." 

The churches at Kingsessing and Upper Merion con- 
tinued their connection with the church at Wicacoa 
until 1842, when they were set off as independent par- 
ishes. 

In continuing the narrative of Dr. Reynolds concern- 
ing Christ Church, particularly, w r e note that Upper 
Merion is the name of a township in Montgomery 
county, and so the parish which lies "to the north-west 
of Philadelphia," is named from a district. The town 
near which it is situated is Bridgeport, where bridges 
cross the Schuylkill river, and connect railways and car- 




OLD SWEDES' CHURCH, (GLORIA DEl) PHILADELPHIA. 



UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 253 

riage roads with Norristown on the other side. This is 
an important manufacturing community, and large mills 
loom up near the church building, and the music of 
machinery stirs the air on weekdays, while a higher 
music is heard in the ancient Church of God on the 
Lord's Day. "Christ Church is on the west bank of the 
Schuylkill, one mile below Norristown, the county seat, 
near the line of the borough of Bridgeport, and sixteen 
miles from Philadelphia." 

Mats Holstein, and Peter Rambo were the first Swedes 
who settled here "with their families." "Mats (Mat- 
thias) Holstein is said to have had one thousand acres 
of land in the neighborhood of what was formerly called 
Swedes' Ford, where his house still stands. The Ford 
probably received its name from him, and the place is 
called by Acrelius, and other early Swedish writers, 'Mat- 
zong,' probably a corruption of Matson's (Mat's son)." 

The church building arose in 1763, being directed by 
Von Wrangel. As services were more frequent in Dr. 
Collin's time, Rev. Slator Clay, an Episcopal minister, 
assisted him. Dr. Collin died in 1831. This event broke 
the "connection with the Swedish Mission." "The three 
churches then, in joint convention, elected the Rev. Jehu 
C. Clay, D. D., a Swede by descent, also of the Episco- 
pal Church, who had charge of the three churches as 
heretofore from 1831 to 1843. He was assisted in this 
church by Rev. Raymond A. Henderson, Rev. John 
Reynolds, Rev. William N. Diehl, and Rev. Dr. Nathan 
Stem. After the separation of the three parishes into 
distinct churches in 1843, the first rector chosen for this 
church was the Rev. Edwin N. Lightner." He held this 
position from 1844 to 1855. (For notices of Slator 
Clay and Dr. Jehu C. Clay see Norristown and Radnor, 
in this volume). 



254 UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

REV. EDWIN N. LIGHTNER. 

(communicated.) 

Rev. Edwin N. Lightner, A. M., was born in Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, October i6th, 1817. He was a 
graduate of Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, in 1836, 
and of the General Theological Seminary, New York, 
June, 1839. July, of the same year, he was ordained to 
the diaconate by Rt. Rev. H. U Onderdonk, in Christ 
Church, Leacock, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, near 
the home of his father. His first sermon was preached 
the same day, both the bishop and his father being pre- 
sent. In October, of the same year, he took charge of 
the parish of St. James's, Muncy, but sickness compelled 
him to return to his father's house in Lancaster County, 
for the winter. In the Spring of the following year, he 
returned to Muncy, and soon became actively engaged 
in parish work, and also held services in many surround- 
ing tow r ns, where the church was little or not at all 
known. The first services of the church, in Williams- 
port, Mr. Lightner held in the court house. There was 
only one member of the church in the town at that time. 
These services were attended with such success, that a 
parish was organized, and a neat church built, which 
was consecrated in July, 1842. Mr. Lightner resigned 
the charge of the church at this time, so that they might 
have more frequent services than he could give them. 
He had also held frequent services in Jersey Shore, 
twelve miles above Williamsport. 

In July, 1844, he took charge of Christ Church 
(Swedes'), Upper Merion, and continued there until 
February, 1854. 

While at the Swedes' Church, in April, 1846, Mr. 
Lightner began services in Conshohocken, holding them 



UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 255 

in a small school-house. These were the first services 
of the church ever held in the place. They were con- 
tinued through 1847, regularly. The last service was 
held January 9th, 1848. In all there were twenty services. 
The sermons preached on each occasion, have the date 
and name of place where delivered. This is stated that 
the history of the church in Conshohocken may be cor- 
rected. When these services were discontinued, Mr. 
Lightner held services in the school-house in Bridge- 
port, on Sunday afternoons, the greater part of 1853, and 
a few times in 1854. The sermons preached show where 
delivered and date. I mention this that Bridgeport 
Church history may be correct. In all, by the date on 
sermons, twenty-five services were held. Mr. Lightner 
also held frequent services in Lower Merion in a school- 
house, some members of the Swedes' Church being near 
there. This was during 1845 and 1846. Mr. Lightner 
was the first rector of Christ Church (Swedes') after the 
separation of the Swedes' Church, each having a pastor 
of their own. 

Mr. Lightner removed to Danville, Montour County, 
Pennsylvania, February 22d, 1855, and was in charge of 
Christ Church parish until April, 1871. Failing health 
compelled him to resign the work he loved so well, and 
retire to private life, his home being Riverside, a village 
across the Susquehanna from Danville. A few years of 
this time he lived in Muncy, but returned to Riverside 
.where he passed peacefully away, in the early morning 
of Trinity Sunday, 188 r. Funeral services were held in 
Grace Church, Riverside, his own old church being torn 
down to make way for a more stately edifice. The place 
of burial was in the beautiful cemetery cf Christ Church, 
Danville. 

The Rev. Wm. Henry Rees, D. D., was rector from 



256 UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

1855 to 1861. An account of him may be found in the 
history of Radnor parish in this volume. 

The Rev. Thomas S. Yocum was rector from 1861 to 
1870. He was born in Cumberland County, N. J., in 
183 1, and educated at the Philadelphia Central High 
School, and was in the iron business with his father 
several years. He graduated at Union College in 1856, 
and studied at the Theological Seminary of Virginia 
and was ordained deacon by Bishop Bowman in Phila- 
delphia, in 1859. He was missionary in China, and 
afterward rector of Christ Church, Upper Merion, 
(Swedesburg) ; and Christ Church, Cincinnati ; and 
St. Andrew's, Richmond, Staten Island, N. Y., where 
he now is. Kenyon College, Ohio, gave him the title 
of D. D. 

The Rev. Octavius Perinchief, held the rectorship 
from 1870 to 1873. 

Mr. Perinchief is said to have descended from King 
Charles the First. Charles Lanman wrote his life, 
which is partly an autobiography. The lad was in a 
store in Bermuda, for a time. When eighteen he went 
to New York, and was employed in a business capacity. 
He was affected by Dr. Tyng's teaching, and drawn to 
God's service. He studied at Amenia, N. Y., and 
Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and taught in Racine 
College, and afterward studied at the General Theologi- 
cal Seminary, at New York, and did work at a mission 
school on Saturdays. 

He was at Cumberland, Georgetown, D. C, and in 
Baltimore, and Associate-Secretary of the Evangelical 
Education Society, with Rev. Dr. D. S. Miller ; Rev. 
Dr. Matlack now ably fills the post. His education was 
the result of earnest self-denial and zealous effort. He 
taught school to aid his advancement in this work, and 



UPPER MERION (PA.) CHRIST CHURCH. 257 

he attained high distinction in the ministry. "As a 
preacher he was gentle, magnetic, persuasive and elo- 
quent, and practical." A volume or two of sermons 
were published. He died at Upper Merion, in 1877. 
Bishop Stevens officiated, with others, at his funeral. 

A memorial window was placed in one of his former 
parishes, in St. George's Church, Mt. Savage, Md., and 
other memorials keep his memory fresh. 

The sermons of Mr. Perinchief are said to have been 
remarkably adapted to the spiritual needs of the hearers. 
I was a fellow-student with him in Trinity College, and 
take pleasure in perpetuating his memory. 

The Rev. Edward Warriner entered on the rectorship 
in 1873. (See Montrose in this volume for notice of 
him.) 

Rev. A. A. Marple, who succeeded Mr. Warriner, 
was born in Bucks County, Penna., and educated in the 
University of Pennsylvania, and the Theological Sem- 
inary of Virginia, near Alexandria. He was ordained 
deacon by Bishop Aloiizo Potter, in 1846, and priest, 
by the same bishop, in 1847. His parishes have been 
Bloomsburgh, Wellsboro' and Scranton, Pa. He was, 
for a time, editor of The Clmrcli (Phila.) before it was 
united w r ith the Standard 0] c the Cross. He is an inter- 
esting and thoughtful writer, and a faithful pastor. The 
rectory is beautifully situated on a commanding hill 
with a fine view. The old church is kept in ex- 
cellent condition, and the graveyard is in good order. 
The spot is historic and attractive. 

Dr. Reynolds's account was aided by Mr. George W. 
Holstein, who was then Secretary of the Vestry. He is 
"a lineal descendant of M. Holstein, one of the first 
Swedish settlers, as above stated, of that part of Penn- 
sylvania." 



258 WASHINGTON (p.) TRINITY. 

WASHINGTON (P.) TRINITY. 

In the History of Washington County, by Alfred 
Creigh, LL. D., we find an account of this parish. 

In 1810, service had been held in this town. In 1812, 
Rev. William David, of Somerset, Pa., occasionally 
preached in a schoolhouse. In 1843, Rev. Enos Wood- 
ward, of Brownsville, officiated monthly in the college 
chapel, procured through Prof. R. H. Lee. On Novem- 
ber 12th, of this year, he "administered the Lord's Sup- 
per," assisted by Rev. Dr. Heman Dyer, of Pittsburg. 

Rev. Kensey Johns Stewart, D. D., of Connellsville, 
officiated "in the court house and the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian Church," and advised the building of a church, 
and a meeting of prayer for direction from God to this 
end. A meeting was held at Prof. Lee's house, and 
earnest prayer arose, and faith followed importunate 
prayer, and a committee was appointed. They were 
Mrs. F. A. Barlow, Prof. R. H. Lee, R. P. Lane, M. D., 
and James R. Shannon. These persons were to ask sub- 
scriptions, and the Rev. Mr. Stewart was to represent 
the matter before a special Convention soon to meet at 
Uniontown, and to communicate with the bishop. The 
result of the meeting of prayer was the erection o£ the 
church. 

On the 23d of April, 1844, the congregation organized. 
Rev. Enos Woodward was chairman, and Prof. R. H. 
Lee, Secretary. The names of the organizers may be 
found on page 185, of Creigh's History. 

The vestry elected were R. H. Lee, R. P. Lane, Leslie 
Carrons, Joseph Gray, William Howe, James R. Shan- 
non, and Hugh H. Reynolds. Rev. Enos Woodward 
was elected rector. In May, 1845, he resigned, and Rev. 
E. J. Messenger became his successor, but in the follow- 



WASHINGTON (p.) TRINITY. 259 

ing August, this noble servant of Christ went as a mis- 
sionary to Africa, where he died on the 28th of March, 
1846. He was a parishioner of the Church of the 
Epiphany, in Philadelphia, before entering on the minis- 
try, and a devoted Sunday-school worker. A tablet in 
that church commemorates him. 

The congregation used College Hall for services until 
August, 1845, but then removed to the Lutheran Church. 
From 1845 to 1850 they were served by supplies, and by 
Prof. Lee, as lay-reader. In 1850, they determined to 
build a church on Bean Street, opposite the college, 
having bought a lot of David Shields. The church was 
opened December 15th, 1850, when Rev. Samuel Clem- 
ents, the rector, preached from Gen. 28: 17. 

Various churches assisted in the good work of furnish- 
ing the house of God. 

Bishop Alonzo Potter consecrated the church, Sep- 
tember 10th, 1854. In 1855, Rev. Mr. Clements resign- 
ed. He was afterward in Ohio, and of late years in 
charge of a boys' school, at Shoemakertown, Pennsyl- 
vania. He died not long since, leaving an excellent 
record of a devout, and holy, and useful life. 

Prof. Lee was elected lay-reader. In January, 1856, 
Rev. George Hall became rector, and the following De- 
cember resigned, and Prof. Lee was again lay-reader. 
In 1858, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Potter, and 
the next October, -priest, by Bishop Bowman, who was 
then assistant bishop. Prof. Lee became rector of the 
parish, and served faithfully as an ambassador of Christ 
until his death, January 3d, 1865, "when he exchanged 
the church militant for the church triumphant. " 

A marble tablet in the chancel wall states that he was 
born in Fairfax County, Virginia, A. D. 1794, and that 
he graduated at Dickinson College "with high honors 



260 WASHINGTON (p.) TRINITY. 

at an early age." He became a lawyer, but in 1834 as- 
sumed the Professorship of Ancient Languages, in Wash- 
ington College, afterwards changing this post "for the 
chair of Belles Lettres and Political Economy." In 
1854, he resigned his Professorship, and soon became a 
lay-reader. 

The epitaph says that the parish "owes to him, under 
God, its origin and organization." It adds, "he labored 
in his holy office faithfully and lovingly until the close 
of his life." 

( 'PIe died, January 3d, 1865, aged 71 years, and was 
gathered unto his fathers, having the testimony of a 
good conscience, in the communion of the Catholic 
Church; in the comfort of a reasonable religious and 
holy hope; in favor with God, and in perfect charity with 
the world." 

During this rectorship the first church building was 
found defective, and "the present beautiful Gothic 
church" was erected. Bishop Potter consecrated the 
building, November 17th, 1863. 

James Mcllvaine was lay-reader after Dr. Lee's death, 
until Rev. James A. Brown entered on the rectorship, 
December 22d, 1865. He resigned, December 23d, 1867. 
Jacob B. McKennan, Esq., became lay-reader in 1868. 

Rev. J. K. Mendenhall entered on the rectorship in 
1869, being ordained be Bishop Kerfoot. In this year a 
parish school-house was built. In 1865, Wm. L. Bow- 
man, son of James Bowman, Esq,, of Brownsville, died 
in his 26th year. When he was a law student in Wash- 
ington, he became a communicant in Trinity Church and 
showed his attachment to the church and the Redeemer's 
work by bequeathing two thousand dollars, the income 
of which should aid the rector's salary. Would that 
there were more like minded. 




ST. STEPHEN'S, WILKESBARRE. 



WILKES -BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 26 1 

Mr. James Mcllvaine sends the following additional 
list of rectors : 

Rev. J. K. Mendenhall assumed charge, October, 1869; 
resigned, October, 1875. Rev. Samuel Haven Hilliard 
took charge, June 4th, 1876 ; resigned, March 3d, 1879. 
Rev. Samuel Earp took charge, April 1st, 1879 ; resign- 
ed, June 25th, 1885. He was rector of Trinity Hall all 
of this period. Rev. Thomas Dorsey Pitts, D. D., rec- 
tor of Trinity Hall, supplied morning services and ser- 
mons during an interim of eleven months. He was Mr. 
Earp's successor at the Hall. Rev. William Woodson 
Walker took charge, June 1st, 1886; resigned, Novem- 
ber 1st, 1887. Rev. Thomas Dorsey Pitts, D. D., rec- 
tor of Trinity Hall supplied most of the services, during 
an interim of eight months. Rev. Frederick Charles 
Cowper, the present rector, took charge on August 9th, 
1888. Since Mr. Earp's time, the rectors of Trinity Hall 
have had no official relation to the parish. 

WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 
BY REV HORACE E. HAYDEN. 

The Parish Guest, of November, \%^, contained a his- 
tory of this church by Rev. H. E. Hayden, which we 
will abridge. The church had been rebuilt and beauti- 
fully decorated. A brass pulpit commemorated Chief 
Justice George W. Woodward, and a bishop's chair, 
Bishop Stevens, and a brass tablet from Mrs. Stevens is 
to keep in memory her father, Judge Conyngham, and 
" his beloved wife." One window is in memory of the 
child, Mary Elizabeth Hayden, and another keeps alive 
the memory of another child, Helen Crocker Jones, and 
another is in memory of Miles Bowman McAlester, who 
died at the age of seventeen. 



262 WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

The parish history was read by Rev. H. L. Jones at 
th» re-opening. Some additional notes are here given 
by Rev. Mr. Hayden. 

St. Stephen's Church has had an organized existence 
of seventy-one years. Rev. Bernard Page, cf the Church 
of England, ordained by the Lord Bishop of London 
for "Wyoming Parish, Pennsylvania," August 24th, 
1772, was the first Protestant Episcopal minister to offi- 
ciate in this section. (See page 17 of this volume.) He 
went to Virginia, where he ministered as assistant to 
" Rev. Bryan, Lord Fairfax." In 181 4, that "Apostle of 
the northwest," Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, D. D., held 
divine services in the old Wilkes-Barre Academy, and 
stirred up the church people of the village. The first 
baptism recorded was performed by him December 8th, 
1 81 4. In 181 7, the church people met and elected the 
first vestry, and engaged the services of Rev. Richard 
Sharpe Mason, D. D. Mr. Mason was born in Barba- 
does, W. L, 1795; graduated University of Pennsylvania, 
A. B., 1812; A. M., 1816; D.D., 1830; studied theology 
under Bishop White, by whom he was ordained deacon 
in 1817; entered at once upon his work at Wilkes-Barre, 
and remained there two years. Ordained priest by 
Bishop Moore, 1820; he at once took a high position in 
the ministry. Was President of Hobart College, New 
York, 1827-1835, and of Newark College, Delaware, 
183 15-1840, and then became the beloved rector in 
Raleigh, N. C, where he died in 1875. 

Dr. Mason was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Phinney, 
ordained deacon by Bishop White, February 25th, 1816. 
His ministry here was brief. 

In 1819, Rev. Manning R. Roche, ordained deacon by 
Bishop White, May 6th, 18 18, became the missionary at 
St. Stephen's. The Sunday-school had been organized 



WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 263 

in 1818 by Hon. David Scott, the President Judge of the 
district, and the parish appears to have been prosperous. 
But Mr. Roche retired from the parish in 1820. During 
the next two years, 1821-1822, the services were con- 
ducted by Mr. Samuel Bowman, a lay-reader, whose 
connection with St. Stephen's is worthy of notice. 

Born in Wilkes-Barre, May 21st, 1800, ordained dea- 
con by Bishop White, August 25th, 1823, he was, after 
a successful ministry of 35 years at Lancaster and 
Easton, Pa., elected assistant bishop of Pennsylvania 
and consecrated August 25th, 1858. (See ''Bishops" 
and "Lancaster" in this volume.) 

The people had worshiped in the old frame building, 
"Old Ship Zion," erected by the joint contributions of 
the various Christian bodies. It was determined in 182 1, 
to sell the right of St. Stephen's parish in this building, 
and to purchase a lot and erect a church. Through the 
aid of Judge Scott this work wasbegun, and in 1822, the 
contract for the building was let. 

On Sunday, June 14th, 1824, the church was conse- 
crated by Bishop White, who administered the rite of 
confirmation to a class of 41 persons. On the following 
Sunday Rev. Samuel Sitgraves, whom Bishop White 
had ordained deacon, May 3d, 1820, and who, in 1823, had 
been called to be rector of St. Stephen's, was ordained 
priest by Bishop White. Bishop (then Rev. Dr.) Kem- 
per preached the sermon. This day the holy communion 
was administered. Mr. Sitgraves, who died August 12th, 
1830, resigned in December, 1823, and was succeeded by 
Rev. Enoch Huntington, who remained until 1826. 

He was succeeded February, 1827, bv Rev. Tames 
May, D. D., who was born in 1805, graduated A. B. 
from Jefferson College 1823, and the Virginia Theologi- 
cal Seminary 1826; was ordained deacon by Bishop 



264 WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

White, 1826. After a very successful ministry of ten 
years, during which the church grew in all its depart- 
ments, both in members and Christian zeal, he succeeded, 
in 1336, Dr. McCoskry (afterwards elected Bishop of 
Michigan) as rector of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 

Dr. May's later history is still a part of the history of 
St. Stephen's parish. In 1842, he was elected to the pro- 
fessorship of Church History in the Virginia Theologi- 
cal Seminary, and it was under his instruction there that 
the present rector of St. Stephen's fitted himself for the 
work of the ministry. In 1861, Dr. May became a pro- 
fessor in the Philadelphia Divinity School, where he died 
December nth, 1863. 

From a chapter on Dr. May's ministry in Wilkes- 
Barre, taken from "The Life and Letters of Dr. May," 
by the Rev. Alexander Shiras, I quote the following: 

"The parish of St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre, was at 
this time without a minister. It was yet comparatively 
small, but it was in a region evidently destined to be 
populous. The rich coal fields and splendid scenery of 
the valley of Wyoming lay around it. Besides the 
townspeople, there was a large and growing country 
population, and for one that was willing patiently to 
work and wait, it offered an interesting and attractive 
sphere of action. Lender his ministry, the church in 
Wilkes-Barre, from a feeble missionary station, grew to 
be what it has ever since continued, the largest, strong- 
est, most effective one of the Protestant Episcopal Com- 
munion in all that section of the diocese. The sentiment 
of his parishioners in regard to him we may gather from 
the kind expressions of his vestry after he had declined 
one of numerous calls: 'When you first came to this 
people, you found them divided and broken, burdened 
with debt, and few in number. The influence of your 



WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 265 

character and your exertions have healed these dissen- 
sions, have enabled them to free themselves from their 
incumbrances, and have formed them into a respectful 
body of attentive hearers.' " 

Dr. May was succeeded in 1837, by Rev. William 
James Clark, who remained until 1840, when Rev. Robert 
Bethel Claxton, S. T. D., who had just been ordained 
deacon by Bishop Moore, entered upon the charge of the 
parish. Dr. Claxton, born 1814, graduated A. B., Yale 
College, in 1838; was rector until 1846. Like Dr. May, 
he left his impress on the church here, by his unwearied 
and zealous labors. It was during Dr. Claxton's ministry 
that such men as Hon. John N. Conyngham, LL. D., 
long the President of the American Church Missionary 
Society, Hon. George W. Woodward, Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and others of abil- 
ity and influence became active and zealous communi- 
cants. He resigned in 1846, and after serving three other 
churches with marked success, was elected professor in 
the Philadelphia Divinity School to take the place of Dr. 
May. From 1873 he was rector of St. Andrew's Church, 
West Philadelphia, until his death in 1882. 

In 1846, Rev. Charles Dekay Cooper, D. D., of Mt. 
Morris, N. Y., was called and accepted charge, but after 
a few months he resigned to become rector at Rochester, 
N. Y. He is now rector of the Church of the Holy 
Apostles, Philadelphia. 

The next rector was Rev. George David Miles, M. A., 
born 1815, ordained by Bishop Eastburn, 1846. He 
entered upon his duties at Wilkes-Barre, April 1st, 1848, 
serving until 1866. His last sermon in St. Stephen's 
was preached October 15th, 1865, on the eve of his 
departure for Europe. During the earnest and active 
ministry of this beloved pastor the church was blessed 



266 WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

with large successes. In 1852, the increase of the con- 
gregation was such as to demand enlarged accommoda- 
tions. The church building erected in 1832 was a frame 
structure of one story with towers at the northeast cor- 
ner. The Sunday-school met in a building, a square 
distant. In 1852, the congregation decided to tear down 
the old church and erect one of brick. March 27th, 
1853, Rev. Mr. Miles preached his last sermon in the old 
edifice. It is from this discourse that much of the 
present history of the church is derived. On June 20th, 
1853, Bishop Alonzo Potter laid the corner-stone of the 
new building. Its erection was under the charge of 
Daniel A. Fell, builder, and had a seating capacity of 
600. The first service was held in the basement, or Sun- 
day-school room, December 25th, 1853. The building 
was consecrated by Bishop A. Potter, April 19th, 1855. 

Rev. Robert Henry Williamson succeeded Mr. Miles, 
and remained until 1874. During part of 1874 the parish 
had the services of the late Rev. Chauncey Colton, D. D. , * 
once President of Bristol College, Pa., and professor in 
Kenyon College, Ohio. 

In 1875, the vestry elected as rector Rev: Henry L. 
Jones, then rector of Christ Church, Fitchburg, Mass., 
where he had ministered with great success for eleven 
years. Mr. Jones is the son of Rev. Lot Jones, for 
thirty-three years rector of the Church of Epiphany, 
New York City. He graduated A. B., from Columbia 
College, New York, 1858; A. M., 1861; Virginia Theo- 
logical Seminary, 1861. After serving as assistant to his 
father during his diaconate he was ordained priest and 
enteredjupon successful missionary work in Fitchburg, 
Mass., where the parish of Christ Church was organized 
in October, 1863. During his rectorate in Wilkes-Barre, 
the church has kept pace with the town, which has quad- 



WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 267 

rupled its population in that time. It has s£ood for the 
past decade at the head in contributions and in mission 
work, though other parishes are richer. 

Five years ago the increased attendance at St. Steph- 
en's was such as again to necessitate the enlargement of 
the building. On the vacant lot in the rear of the 
church was built a commodious and convenient parish 
building. 

The present seating capacity of the church is a trifle 
over 800. The old central tower and the whole front 
having been torn down, the new front was built up of 
hard, dark brick, in a s4yle similar to some of the Lom- 
bard buildings of northern Italy. 

Eight clergymen have gone out into the ministry from 
St. Stephen's: Rt. Rev. Samuel Bowman, D. D., Rev. 
Geo. C. Drake and Rev. Henry M.Denison, all of whom 
are now dead; Rev. Alex. Shiras, D. D., of Washington; 
Rev. De Witt C. Loop, of Mt. Winans, Maryland; Rev. 
James L. Maxwell, of New York; Rev. James Caird, of 
Troy, New York, and Rev. Charles H. Kidder, of As- 
bury Park, New Jersey. Among the lay-readers of the 
parish were Judges Scott, Woodward, Conyngham and 
Dana. 

The present rector is Secretary of the Standing Com- 
mittee of the diocese, and was delegate to the General 
Conventions of 1880, 1883 and 1886. 

St. Stephen's supports two scholarships in Africa, two 
in China, two in Mexico, and one in Utah. But her 
missionary work is not confined to the foreign field. She 
has organized, and through the instrumentality of in- 
dividual communicants, aids in supporting six mission 
churches and Sunday-schools within the limits of Wyom- 
ing Valley, which are under the charge of the assistant 
ministers of the parish ; St. Peter's, Plymouth, owning 



268 WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 

a handsome property with church and rectory, amid a 
population of 10,000 souls; St. Andrew's, Alden, with 
new church and rectory ; St. George's, Nanticoke, with 
a brick church now building; St. John's, Ashley, with a 
handsome frame church; Log Chapel, Laurel Run, con- 
nected with General P. A. Oliver's powder mill, an ex- 
quisite model of rustic work, and Calvary Chapel, North 
Wilkes-Barre, with a building in which a flourishing 
Sunday-school is kept up. To carry on this outside 
work, St. Stephen's has three assistant ministers. 

It is proper to add that the enlargement of St. Stephen's 
and the erection of the parish building, also of tower and 
vestibule, has been under the direction of C. M. Burns, 
of Philadelphia, as architect, and M. B. Houpt, of Wilkes- 
Barre, as contractor. 

Note — The beautiful stone church in South Wilkes- 
Barre was erected, and the now flourishing and inde- 
pendent parish of St Clement's was organized by com- 
municants of St. Stephen's. (Rev. C. L Sleight is its 
present rector). 

Rev. George David Miles. Born 1815; died at Boston, 
October 24th, 1874; married at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- 
vania, Elizabeth Streater, daughter of Charles and 
Elizabeth Streater, of Wilkes-Barre, who came here from 
England. 

Mr. Miles graduated, Virginia Theological Seminary, 
1846; ordained deacon by Bishop M. Eastburn, 1846. 
Became assistant minister to Dr. B. C. Cutler, rector of 
St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, 1846, succeeding Dr. 
Bancroft. Dr. Cutler then wrote: ''Thanks be to a 
gracious God, I have an assistant who promises well, a 
good man and true." 

Mr. Miles became rector of St. Stephen's Church, 
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, April 1st, 1848, where he 



WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHENS. 269 

preached his last sermon as rector, October 15th, 1865; 
went to Europe, and spent a year in travel, and resign- 
ed St. Stephen's, October, 1866. In 1867, he accepted 
a call to St. John's Church, Taunton, Massachusetts, 
holding the cure until his death. In 1873, he spent a 
year in Europe, Egypt and Palestine. Returning by 
steamer to America, he was thrown from his berth in 
the vessel and partially paralyzed. The last eight days 
of his voyage were days of intense suffering, and ten 
days after landing in Boston, he died, October 24th, 
1874, aged 59. His Taunton people lavished kindness 
upon him and his last days were full of peace. He was 
buried at Wilkes-Barre, November 12th, 1874. The 
vestry of St. Stephen's have erected a monument over 
his remains. He was much beloved in his several fields 
of labor. An earnest, faithful preacher and pastor; 
humble, modest and thoroughly consecrated, his char- 
acter was full of Christ likeness. Dr. Cutler wrote of him 
in 1846: " Brother Miles took the text, 'first the blade, 
then the ear, &c./ andbecause he was plain, evangelical, 
experimental, and somewhat in the parable style, he 
was much liked." 

Mr. Miles published several articles from his pen, 
" Memoir of Ellen May Woodward." (Miss Woodward 
was the daughter of Hon. G. W. Woodward, vestryman 
of St. Stephen's), "The Plague of the Heart," and "Pas- 
toral Address to the people of St. Stephen's Church." 

The present rector of St. Stephen's Church, Rev. 
Henry Lawrence Jones, M. A., son of the late Rev. Lot 
Jones, for more than 33 years rector of the Church of 
the Epiphany, New York City, was born, May 30th, 
1839. Educated at Columbia College, where he gradu- 
ated A. B., 1858; A. M., 1861. Graduated, Virginia 
Theological Seminary 1861 ; ordered deacon by Rt. Rev. 



-2?0 WlLKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN Si 

Henry Potter, D. D., May 24th, 1861 ; priest by same, 
1862. He has been the beloved rector of St. Stephen's 
for more than fifteen years. During that period he has 
held the highest positions in the ecclesiastical affairs of the 
diocese of Central Pennsylvania, i. e. y examining Chap- 
lain, 1876-1880; President of the Northwestern Convo- 
cation, and member of Board of Missions, 1876-1887, 
when he refused to be re-elected. Special Deputy to 
the General Convention, 1 886-1 891, and member of the 
Standing Committee, continuously since 1876. Mr. Jones 
is also one of the Executive Committee of the American 
Church Missionary Society, of which for many years 
Hon. Jno. L. Conyngham, LL.D., senior warden of 
St. Stephen's Church, was president. During his minis- 
try in Wilkes-Barre, Mr. Jones has identified himself 
with many local institutions for the advancement of this 
city. He is one of the trustees of the Osterhout Free 
Library, (endowed with $400,000 by a member of St. 
Stephen's), and of the Wyoming Historical Geographical 
Society. He married in Massachusetts, Miss Sarah 
Eastman Coffin, and has a family. 

One of the bishops who has known Mr. Jones inti- 
mately, writes thus of him : 

"-The present bishop of New York, once wrote me, in 
a private letter, 'The Rev. Henr^ L. Jones is a prince 
among men.' To those who know Mr. Jones, this de- 
scription does not seem extravagant, for in the compo- 
sition of his character, there is a remarkable combination 
of strength and beauty. Simple and unostentatious in 
manner, there is yet something in his looks, and speech 
and action that suggest a large reserve force, and in his 
adminstration of parochial affairs this is more then real- 
ized; for he is not only wise in counsel, but possesses ex- 
ceptional executive gifts. Keeping, as he always does, 



WILKES-BARRE (c.) ST. STEPHEN'S. 27 I 

his mental and moral equipoise, his judgment is asked 
by many people in and out of the church, and being both 
just and generous, he has the confidence of all who know 
him. As a preacher, he is thoughtful and instructive, 
and has a charming literary style. As a pastor, he is 
sympathetic, active and unusually self-sacrificing, while as 
an administrator, he has few peers. The work in St. 
Stephen's parish has been large and exacting, but his 
success therein has been remarkable. His assistant 
ministers love him as a brother, and the affection for him 
shown by his parishioners is as unusual as it is delightful 
He receives and deserves the love of all who know him." 

I add that a parish with six missions and three assist- 
ants shows executive ability, and the days of Dr. May 
seem to be renewed in the parish. 

I add a sketch of an assistant minister, the Rev. 
Horace Edwin Hayden, M. A., son of Hon. Edwin Par- 
sons Hayden, of Md. ; was born in Catonsville, Md., 
Feb., 1 8th, 1837 ; educated at St. Timothy's Military 
School, Md., and Kenyon College, Ohio; Hon. M. A., 
Kenyon College, 1886. His college course was inter- 
rupted by the War between the States, during which he 
served as private soldier in the Confederate States Army, 
1 861-1865. Graduated Virginia Theological Seminary, 
1867. Ordered deacon by Rt. Rev. John Johns, D. D., 
June 26th, 1867. Priest, by Rt. Rev. F. M. Whittle, 
D. D., Aug. 7th, 1867. Rector of r 'Christ Church, Point 
Pleasant, Diocese of Virginia, organizing the parish, 1867- 
1873. Rector of St. John's Church, West Brownsville, 
Pa., Diocese of Pittsburgh, 1873-1879. Assistant min- 
ister of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre, for over 
eleven years, 1 879-1 891, during which period he was 
also rector of St. Clement's Church, Wilkes-Barre, 1885- 
1887. Since 1885 he has been one of the Examining 



272 . WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

Chaplains of the Diocese. He is a member of many 
historical and scientific societies, and has illustrated his 
love for such studies, by publishing several works on 
subjects connected with American history, etc. He 
married, in Virginia, Miss Kate Elizabeth Byers, of 
Maryland. He is preparing, with much toil, a volume 
of "Virginia Genealogies." He is fond of literary 
work, and, like good scholars in general, glad to impart 
information. He has written several works, and has a 
large library, rich in American history, and aiding his 
patient researches. 

The Rev. James Porter Ware, B. D., born in Massa- 
chusetts, April 6th, 1859. Educated at Delaware College, 
Del., where he graduated B. L., 1883 ; B. D., Episcopal 
Theological Seminary, Cambridge, Mass., 1886. Ordered 
deacon by Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, June 19th, 
t886; priest, 1887. Now rector of Noburn, Mass., 1886 ; 
Manville, R. I., 1887. Assistant minister of St. Stephen's 
Church, Wilkes-Barre; in charge of St. Peter's, Plymouth, 
1888-1890. Married, Oct. 12th, 1887, Miss Helen E. Story. 

The Rev. Daniel Webster Coxe, D. D. Educated at 
Kenyon College, Ohio, where he graduated A. B., 1865; 
A. M., 1868. Ordered deacon by Bishop Vail, July 
19th, 1868; priest, 1869. He was rector of various 
parishes in Kansas, under Bishop Vail, until 1880, when 
he became rector at Tremont, Ohio, 1880-1885; then 
of West Pittston, Pa., 1885-1889. In 1889, he became 
assistant minister of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes- 
Barre, at Alden and Nanticoke. 

WILLIAMSPORT (c) CHRIST CHURCH. 

(communicated.) 

Christ Church was organized on the 8th day of Feb- 
ruary, 1841. The first church building was completed 



WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 273 

and consecrated on June 12th, 1842, by Bishop Onder- 
donk. The corner-stone of the present large stone 
church was laid June, 27th, 1867. 

Rectors. — Rev. Edward N. Lightner, Missionary, 
assumed the charge, April 1st, 1840; resigned, June 13th, 

1842. Rev. John B. Clemson, D. D., entered upon his 
duties as rector, June 26th, 1842; resigned, March 20th, 

1843. (See Chester in this volume.) While the closing 
pages of this volume were being printed Dr. Clemson 
died (February 3rd, 1891), in West Chester, Pa., closing 
an honored and useful Christian life in his 88th year, and 
entering on an "endless life" before God. He was buried 
at Laurel Hill, Philadelphia. Rev. Thomas C. Yarnall 
assumed charge September 17th, 1843; resigned, April 
nth, 1846. (For many years past rector of St. 
Mary's, West Philadelphia.) Rev. William James Clark 
assumed charge, October 1 1 th, 1 846; resigned March 1 5th, 
185 1. Rev. J. Henry Black assumed charge October 
10th, 1851; resigned June 32th, 1853. Rev. Edward P. 
Wright assumed charge, October 3d, 1853; resigned. 
April nth, 1854. Rev. W. H. Cooper assumed charge, 
September 14th, 1854; resigned September, 1855. Rev. 
R. C. Moore assumed charge, October 20th, 1855; 
resigned, 1865. (He was a son of Bishop Moore, of Vir- 
ginia,) Rev. H. S. Spackman was next in order. Rev. 
Allva Wadleigh assumed charge June, 1866; resigned, 
1869. Rev. Wm. Paret assumed charge August, 1869; 
resigned October, 1876. Rev. John Henry Hopkins 
assumed charge December, 1876; resigned, 1887. Rev. 
W. H. Graff assumed charge January, 1 888. Brick rectory 
completed 1855; remodeled and improved, 1888; parish 
building erected; Wadleigh Chapel is built of stone ; St. 
John's Chapel, South Williamsport, built 1887, is a 
frame structure. 



274 WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

Trinity Church, Williamsport, organized by colony 
from Christ Church. 

(The Wadleigh Chapel commemorates in its name a 
lovely Christian character, and it was well thus to con- 
tinue his memory in the parish, which he so well served. 
He was the beloved rector of St. Luke's, Germantown, 
after leaving Williamsport.) 

REV. GEORGE W. NATT. 
^COMMUNICATED.) 

A short memoir of the Rev. Mr. Natt is to be found in 
a volume of sermons published in 1867, by Lippincott 
&Co. 

Rev. George W. Natt, was born of English parentage 
in Philadelphia, January 5th, 1S15. Placed at school in 
Cheshire, Conn., at the age of eleven, returning thence 
to Philadelphia. In his sixteenth year, went to Wash- 
ington College, Hartford, (now Trinity) graduated in 
1834. He studied in the General Theological Seminary, 
at New York, and graduated in 1837; ordained deacon 
in Christ Church, Philadelphia, in 1837; placing himself 
at the disposal of the bishop, (Onderdonk), he was sent 
to Bellefonte, Centre County, Pa. In 1839, he was 
ordained to the priesthood in St. Peter's Church, Phila- 
delphia. During his short life, his health was always 
delicate, yet he was as a Missionary of the Advance- 
ment Society, actively engaged in starting the church in 
most of the parishes of Williamsport, Lock Haven, Jer- 
sey Shore, as also in Clearfield and Philipsburg ; the last- 
mentioned parish being for some time in his especial 
charge. Occasional services were also held by him at 
Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Morrisdale and in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Bellefonte. In April, 185 1 J he commenced 
holding services in the vicinity of Mantua, West Phila- 



WILLI AMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 5 75 

delphia, and in October of that year accepted the posi- 
tion of rector of the newly organized parish of St. 
Andrew's, Mantua; the vestry of which purchased the 
lot on which still stood the broken walls of the old St. 
Mark's. Permanent ill health obliged Mr. Natt to cease 
work, and in December 1859, he gave up the parish. He 
died February 4th, 1863; is buried at St. Luke's, Ger- 
mantown. 

REV. DR. H. S. SPACKMAN. 

I find noted in our annual report for 1868, that the 
''bishop had appointed to the chaplaincy the Rev. Henry 
S. Spackman, well-known to our community and our 
church as a desirable acquisition for many reasons, and 
particularly on account of hospital experience acquired 
through his service at Chestnut Hill and elsewhere as 
United States Army chaplain during the war." Then 
in a note appears in our report for 1875, ''During the 
month of February occurred the sudden death of the 
late chaplain of the hospital, the Rev. Henry S. Spack- 
man, D. D." At the next meeting of the Board, the 
following minutes was adopted : 

"As the hospital has sustained a great loss in the sud- 
den death of the chaplain, the late Rev. Dr. Spackman, 
since our last meeting, the Board desire to put on record 
the sense they entertain of the great value of his services 
in the important office he has sustained so long, and of 
the duties of which he has so faithfully discharged." Dr. 
Spackman was originally a lawyer and was a member of 
the Pennsylvania Legislature. His " D. D." was received 
from Jefferson College, Philadelphia. He assisted Rev. 
Dr. Hare at St. Matthew's Church, Philadelphia. St. 
Clement's Church in that city was built for the purpose 
of having him as its first rector. 



276 WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

Dr. S. R. Knight, the superintendent of the Episcopal 
Hospital, sends me the above information. 

Rev. William J. Clark was born in Philadelphia in 
181 2; educated in that city and Alexandria Theological 
Seminary, and ordained by Bishop Moore, and has had 
the following parishes: Wilmington, Delaware, St. 
Andrew's, about 1838; Wilkes-Barre, 1839; Berlin and 
Snow Hill, Eastern Shore of Maryland, 1841; Church- 
town, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about 1845; Wil- 
liamsport, Pennsylvania, 1846-1850; Washington and 
Georgetown, in charge of Female Boarding-school, 
1851-1856; Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland, 1856- 
1860; Portsmouth, Ohio, from i860 to 1865; Vineland, 
New Jersey, from 1871 to 1872, or 1873. 

Mr. Clark now resides in Germantown, Philadelphia. 

Rev. D. E. Purdon Wright was born in Lincoln, Eng- 
land, in 1825. His father was a clergyman, Rev. Robert 
Wright. During his childhood he removed to Ireland 
where he grew up attending Trinity College, Dublin. 
He came to the United States, and was acting rector of 
Burlington College, New Jersey. The Rt. Rev. G. W. 
Doane ordained him deacon, in 1852, and priest, 1853. 
His first parish was Williamsport, thence he removed to 
Lancaster County, and became rector of St. John's, 
Pequea, and St. Mark's, Honeybrook. Afterward he 
was in Nashua, New Hampshire, and at Christ Church, 
Waukegan, Illinois, and St. James's Church, Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and Christ Church, Dayton, Ohio. In both of the 
Ohio parishes, new churches were built under his super- 
vision — that in Dayton costing $50,000. He has labored 
for 17 years in Wisconsin, mostly in the missionary 
fields, but he is now rector of Trinity, Wauwatosa, a 
parish founded by him. He is also the chaplain of the 
N. W. Branch National Home for D. V. S. 



WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 277 

He is the Secretary of the Standing Committee. The 
degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Nebraska Col- 
lege. 

THE RT. REV. WILLIAM PARET, D. D. 

Sixth Bishop of Maryland, was born in New York in 
the year 1826. He graduated from Hobart College, 
where he pursued his theological studies under the per- 
sonal supervision of Bishop De Lancey. He was ordered 
deacon in 1852, and ordained to the priesthood in 1853. 
He was successively rector at Clyde, N. Y.; Pierrepont 
Manor, N. Y.* East Saginaw, Mich.; Elmira, N. Y.; 
Williamsport, Pa., and the Epiphany, Washington. 
Elected Bishop of Maryland on October 28th, 1884. 
Consecrated on the Festival of the Epiphany (January 
6th), 1885, by Bishops Lee, of Delaware; Lay, of Easton; 
Stevens, of Pennsylvania ; Neely, of Maine ; Howe, of 
Central Pennsylvania, and Lyman, of North Carolina. 

[Living Church Annual Quarterly, 1S86.] 

JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, D. D , S. T. D. 

was born in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1820; his father being 
rector of Trinity Church, in that city, and his mother 
being the daughter of Caspar Otto Muller, a German 
lady. The education of this their first-born son, was of 
a special care to his parents. They attended to it in per- 
son in a family school, and afterwards partly through 
salaried teachers, in the First Vermont Episcopal Insti- 
tute, in Burlington, Vermont. At 13, John Henry was 
confirmed and became a regular communicant. His apt- 
ness to learn, rendered his education a very pleasant 
work for his teachers, and he prepared for the University 
of Vermont, at the age of 15, where he graduated with 
honors in 1833, in the presence of Henry Clay. While 



278 WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

in Burlington, he was organist of St. Paul's Church, an 
office filled by his older sister and younger brothers and 
sisters in succession for more than thirty years. He was 
private tutor in the family of the late Bishop Elliott from 
1842 to 1844. 

Mr. Hopkins graduated at the General Theological 
Seminary, New York, in 1856 ; ordained deacon in the 
same year by Bishop Whittingham, in Trinity Church, 
New York. In 1853, he started the Church Journal, 
which for 15 years was "facile prince ps" among the 
religious literature of the land. From 1868 till 1872 he 
was mainly occupied with his father's biography, which 
was not only the life but the Church times of the first 
Bishop of Vermont. At the same period he was for 
about six months in pastoral charge in Vergennes, Ver- 
mont, and two years in Essex, N. Y., in both of which 
parishes the church made substantial progress while 
under his care. In 1872, he became rector of Trinity 
Church, Plattsburg, N. Y., receiving priest's orders 
there. During this rectorship he made most earnest 
efforts to divide the Diocese of Albany, and found the 
See of Ogdensburg, N. Y., and he was so nearly suc- 
cessful as to prove the practicability of the plan, if the 
canonical consents could have been secured. In 1876, 
he became rector of Christ Church, Williamsport, with 
the distinct understanding at the start, that he should 
labor to divide the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and 
found the Sel of Williamsport. 

This too, he brought to the very verge of success, by 
several years of almost superhuman labor, but failed, 
as before, from the lack of full canonical consent. His 
convictions in favor of small dioceses had been the 
growth of years. They had been voiced in the Church 
Journal, and had been the main cause of the division of 



WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 279 

the diocese of New York into four dioceses, He had 
proved repeatedly that every division had- resulted in 
greater growth of the church, and that the true secret 
of the church's life lay in reducing the size of dio- 
ceses, until every bishop should have time, not only to 
preside over work begun, but to open up in person, the 
new fields in his diocese. 

The rectorship in Christ Church, Williamsport, con- 
tinued for nearly eleven years, and resulted in over 
$ 100,000 raised for church work, the founding of several 
missions, and the building of more than one mission 
chapel, and the bringing into the ministry several 
youths trained by Mr. Hopkins himself. 

His relation to the great Catholic Revival in the 
Anglican communion, was ever that of a warm friend. 
One of the most striking examples of this, is his Bible 
Protestant Catechism, in which a stolid Protestant is 
forced, in a most amusing way, to admit the Scriptural 
authority for all the peculiar points of the Catholic 
Revival in the church. 

Mr. Hopkins ever held the pen of a ready writer; with 
keen w T it, genial humor, clear logic, exhaustive learning, 
a love of sarcasm, he felt hard to restrain, a readiness 
in repartee, a rare aptness in illustration, with a fund of 
pat stories and a power of hard hitting in argument; he 
never committed himself in public until sure of his 
ground, and always had the last word. His pamphlets 
and review articles and contributions to various cyclo- 
paedias would make several volumes. He published in 
magazines, many articles, original songs, music and 
words; a volume of charming carols and songs, a volume 
of heart-stirring poetry, and he edited the great works 
of Professor Mahan, the sermons of Bishop Elliott, and 
among several others, the last large volume of the late 



280 WILLIAMSPORT (c.) CHRIST CHURCH. 

Professor Dean, on "The Evidences of Christianity/' 
He was nominated repeatedly by the Alumni of the 
General Theological Seminary to succeed Professor 
Dean, but by a small majority failed of the election by 
the trustees. 

He was an accomplished architect, and was the founder 
and leading spirit in the Ecclesiological Society, designed 
many of our most beautiful and unique churches and 
chapels. He was the life of the clerical social party, 
excelled in after-dinner speeches and in conventions; car- 
ried on an enormous correspondence on church quest- 
ions in England and America, and in Roman contro- 
versy silenced Monsignor Capel. This latter controversy 
and a review of Dr. Littledale's Petrine Claims, have 
lately appeared in a volume published by Mr. T. Whit- 
taker. 

Several other works have been designed by Mr. Hop- 
kins, but they are all now (October 1890), in his seven- 
tieth year, given up on account of entire loss of health. 

Written by request by William Cyprian Hopkins, rec- 
tor of Grace Church, Toledo, Ohio. 

For Dr. Hopkins's "The Church of the Future in 
America," see Church Eclectic, February, A. D. 1891/ 

Rev. William H. Graff, was born in 1845, and was a 
student at Agricultural College, Centre County, Pa., 
when the War broke out. Served nearly three years in 
the 15th P. V. C, (Anderson Cavalry). He graduated 
at the Philadelphia Divinity School, in June, 1870. He 
was ordained deacon by Bishop A. Lee, at Claymont, 
Delaware, June 26th, 1870, and became assistant to Dr. 
H. J. Morton, in St. James's Church, Philadelphia. On 
December 27th, was ordained priest at Church of All 
Saints', Torresdale, Pa., to fill call of St. Jude's Free 
Church, Philadelphia, to become its rector. After sev- 



WlLLIAMSPORT (c.) TRIXITY. 28 1 

enteen years of most faithful service in this parish, he 
was called, in the Fall of 1887, to the rectorship of 
"Christ Church," Williamsport, to succeed the Rev. 
Dr. John Henry Hopkins. 

WILLIAMSPORT (c.) TRIXITY. 
(COMMUNICATED.) 

The first services held for our church in Williamsport 
were by Rev. E. N. Lightner, rector of St. James's 
Church, Muncy, in 1840. 

Mr. Spackman, the first rector of Trinity, was rector 
of St. Mark's, Frankford, 1846, assistantat St. Matthew's, 
Philadelphia, 1853; St. Clement's, Philadelphia, 1857; 
and after leaving Trinity, he was Chaplain of the Epis- 
copal Hospital. He died in February, 1875. 

Mr. Brooks was rector of St. James's, Chicago, 1872, 
and of the Church of the Incarnation, New York, 1875. 

Mr. Caskey was minister of the "Crown of Life" 
Chapel, N. Y., before coming to Trinity. 

Mr. Jandon was rector of St. James's, Muncy, Pa.; 
Grace, Muncie, Indiana; St. George's, Farley, and St. 
Andrew's, Chariton, Iowa. 

Mr. Foley was assistant at St. Matthew's, Philadelphia, 
1874; minister in charge of St. Matthias, September, 
1875; rector St. James's, Pittston, Pa., November, 1875. 

A mission Sunday-school was begun in 1862 by mem- 
bers of Christ Church, and continued until the organiza- 
tion of this parish in 1865. The first rector was Rev. Henry 
S. Spackman, formerly of St. Clement's, Philadelphia, 
who entered upon his duties January 1st, 1866. Services 
were held in a neighboring Methodist Chapel until the 
erection of Trinity Chapel in 1866. Mr. Spackman 
resigned in 1868. 

x 9 



282 york (c.) st. johx's. 

His successor was Rev. Charles T. Steck, who entered 
the ministry of the church from the Lutherans. He 
remained until January, 1870. 

The third rector was the Rev. Arthur Brooks, who 
accepted the call in 1870. Within the year, plans were 
secured for a new stone church, to cost not less than 
$20,000, the corner-stone of which was laid by Bishop 
Stevens, on July 15th, 1871. Mr. Brooks resigned in 
1872. 

On May 5th, 1872, a call was extended to the Rev. 
Toliver F. Caskey, of New York, who continued in 
charge until September, 1877. During this rectorship, 
the new church was built upon revised and enlarged 
plans, and at the sole cost of Mr. Peter Herdic. Its 
value is estimated at more than $60,000. It was conse- 
crated, February 22d, 1876. 

The Rev. F. D. Jandon became rector, November, 

1877. 

On May 1st, 1879, ^ ie Rev. George C. Foley became 
the sixth rector of the parish, and continues so at pres- 
ent. During this rectorship, a handsome brick rectory 
has been built at an expense of over $10,000; the chapel 
has been enlarged, a vested choir introduced, exquisite 
chancel embroidered hangings presented, and the hope 
is entertained of signalizing the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of the parish in 1891 by the erection of a commodious 
parish building. 

york (c.) st. john's. 

As we travel toward York, the long bridge from Col- 
umbia to Wrightsville reminds us, that in the midst of 
this beautiful scenery, there w r as but a ferry in the time 
of Rev. Thomas Barton, and the early missionaries in 
general who served this region so faithfully, enduring 



york (c.) st. john's. 283 

hardness as good soldiers of Christ. The winter experi- 
ence at this point must have been sometimes very severe. 
This was known as Wright's Ferry. The noble hills 
then stood as now the sentinels of God, but the rocks 
had not been cut that the steam railway might rush 
through them. The old bridge was above the present 
one. A pretty creek still babbles along beyond 
Wrightsville. 

The name Columbia in the town we have just left is a 
memento of the early history of this land. Productive 
farms, large barns and good farm-houses lie among the 
rolling hills, where Mr. Barton doubtless saw many 
forests. Art triumphs over nature, and yet the hand of 
God is seen both in art and nature. We passed through 
this country in the sweet month of June, whose breath is 
scented with the new mown hay, and whose golden fields 
of wheat wait the sickle, or rather the reaping machine, 
which destroys poetry, and is a stronger reminder of 
death, as being more powerful. The oats have already 
fulfilled the task assigned by their Creator. 

An abundance of woods still greets the eye on the 
hills, and the birds of the air and animals have a rightful 
share of the creation of God, with their fellow 7 creature, 
man. The cottages are neat and well kept, and there is 
an air of comfort. Alter crossing the Susquehanna we 
entered York County. Stony Brook is poetic with the 
antiquity of nature, as the stones were washed by the 
water in Indian days, as well as in the time of the Prop- 
agation Society Missionaries. The sower and reaper 
are now rejoicing together, and the animals drawing 
their heavy loads teach man a lesson of patience. The 
comfortable farm houses have a town look, because they 
are constructed of brick. It would be better if they 
were colored so as to suit the natural surroundings. 



284 york (c.) st. John's. 

But here we are in York, with its busy factories and 
railways and large population. Our friend, the Rev. 
William G. Ware, rector of St. John's Church, is ready 
to aid our investigations, while a former parishioner, 
now the Superintendent of the Frederick Division of the 
Pennsylvania Railway, Wilson Brown, extends a ready 
hospitality. 

The commodious and pleasant rectory at York is 
opposite the church, and the parish is to be congratu- 
lated on having so much land from the wise forethought 
of early settlers. 

A tablet in the front of the tower states that the church 
was founded in 1769, and rebuilt in 1850, 1862 and 1883. 
It was enlarged at the last date. 

The tombstone of Mrs. Sarah Hall, who died in 1826, 
being the wife of Rev. Richard D. Hall, is against the 
exterior church wall. 

There is a pleasant Sunday-school room in the second 
story, and an infant-class room on the first story. There 
are parish and Sunday-school libraries and guild rooms. 

The church is constructed of brick. Some Hessians 
are buried in the rear of the ample churchyard. The 
old bell is still in use. There is a sexton's house, and 
altogether the parish owns a fine property. The church- 
yard is the oldest burying-place of the town. Mrs. 
Johnson's tomb is of ancient date. 

A triplet chancel-window commemorates Miss Maria 
Virginia Schall, daughter of Michael and Charlotte 
Virginia Schall. This family have, for many years, 
been faithful workers in this parish. James Schall and 
his wife Elizabeth, are commemorated in a triplet rear 
transept-window, and an opposite window is the gift of 
the Sunday-school. In the front transept, on the south 
side, Henry D. Schmidt and Catharine A. Schall find a 



YORK (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 285 

commemoration in another window. Catharine Jameson 
and Elizabeth Jameson Gibson are kept in memory, in 
like manner, in the north front transept. Emily C. 
Bonham has a window in her memory, in which St. 
Agnes, with her lamb, is represented. James Schall and 
wife, and a daughter of the present vestryman, Michael 
Schall, also have memorial windows. The interior of 
the church is pretty, and the chancel is beautiful. The 
rectory has been remodeled and enlarged during Mr. 
Ware's rectorship. The Sunday-school building is sep- 
arate from the church. The choir-room is on the south 
side of the church. A school property, formerly belong- 
ing to the church, adjoins the rectory, and the grounds 
of this school are very fine. This York County Academy 
property originally belonged to the parish, but it has 
passed from their hands to be continued, however, for 
school purposes. 

Rev. Mr. Ware assumed the rectorship of this parish 
May 1st, 1889, coming from St. Paul's Church, Wells- 
boro, Pennsylvania. His predecessor, the Rev. Mr. 
Powell, left in 1888, to take charge of Grace Church, 
Baltimore. 

The streets of York have an English flavor, as George, 
Duke, Queen and King. A Moravian cemetery, with 
its flags on soldiers' graves, is an interesting spot in the 
town. Farquahar Hill and Park make a pleasant resort 
on a summer evening, and modern history mingles with 
ancient, as the late Judge Jeremiah Black's place is seen 
on one of the hills in view from this point. As sunset 
draws on, the town seems to sleep beneath. The Conewago 
hills are in sight, connecting below with the South and 
Cototchtin (Indian Kau-ta-tin Chunk or principal moun- 
tain, or Kittatiny) Mountains, and above with the Welsh 
Mountain, 



286 york (c.) st. john's. 

The Hessians had a camp near this town. 

In Revolutionary days Congress met in the State 
House in York, and here Dr. White, afterward bishop, 
officiated as chaplain. The court house was used for 
church services. 

There is an old drawing by William Wagster of the 
interior of the old church, with its quaintly dressed 
worshipers, hanging in one of the rooms of the present 
church building, which I w T ish could be put into an 
engraving, as it is worthy of that notice for its antiquity. 
There is an ancient legacy at York which adds to the 
interest of a visit to the town. There are several acres 
of commons which have laid open since the days of the 
Penn Proprietaries, and were given by them for the 
public pasturage of cattle. So a remnant of one of the 
vastest estates on earth, which has mostly passed from 
that distinguished family still lingers as a piece of 
benevolent history, and a reminder of old customs. 

On the morning of Sunday, September iSth, 1887, 
Rev. Arthur Chilton Powell, who was then rector of this 
parish, preached a Centennial sermon, entitled " Historic 
St. John's," which was printed in pamphlet form at the 
Gazette Printing House, in York. This sermon, con- 
densed in some points, and enlarged by the present 
author in others, will now form the continuation of this 
sketch. 

The town of York was laid out in 1741, but the 
incorporation as a borough occurred in 17S7, on the 24th 
of September. St. John's Church, having been founded 
in 1769, received its incorporation September 20th, 1787, 
so that the sermon was delivered at the Centennial of 
both events. I wish that every parish had as good a 
^chronicler of its history as Mr. Powell. Such work 
costs time and labor, but it is very useful. A picture of 



york (c.) st. john's. 287 

the dignified old church, in its open lot, adorns the 
pamphlet. In 18 10 the entrance was removed from the 
side to the front. That year the house for the sexton 
was built. The church was originally called "St. John 
the Baptist in the Wilderness." The trees which are 
grouped in the yard in the picture give it a rustic look. 
There were but three English Episcopal Churches 
beside this "in the colony of Pennsylvania, outside the 
city of Philadelphia. " 

The text of the sermon was Jeremiah 6 : 16. — "Thus 
saith the Lord : stand ye in the ways and see, and ask 
for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk 
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." 

The preacher lovingly dwelt on the glory of York in 
the eyes of both the patriot and the churchman. 
Fidelity to God was the source of this honor. Parish 
and town are older than the Republic. The church bell 
summoned the Continental Congress, where the church 
services were used by the chaplain, the Rev. William 
White, who afterward became bishop. The Academy 
at York, which did good work for a century, was the 
child of this parish. The first Sunday-school in York 
County was founded by one of the members of St. John's 
parish. 

The first settlers of York County were English. In 
1729 John and James Hendricks settled on Kreutz Creek. 
German emigrants soon followed, and those who applied 
for lots in Yorktown were mainly Germans. A log 
church was built by the Lutherans in 1741. There were 
a good number of English people in the town, and the 
first services in the English language were those of the 
Church of England. They seem to have begun not 
long after the town was founded. The first English 
Missionary sent by the loving mother Church of England 



288 YORK (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 

to her distant children, found a congregation established 
here, though without regular services. These are better 
days, when every Lord's Day hears the old bell calling a 
goodly congregation to prayer and praise and religious 
instruction and Holy Sacraments. May the people 
prize and rightly use these blessed privileges. In 1755, 
the Rev. Thomas Barton held services here at appointed 
times. Born in Ireland in 1730, he had received his 
education at the University of Dublin. When 23 years 
old he came to this country, and taught two years in the 
Academy of Philadelphia. He also visited the church 
folk in York, and Huntington, which is now called York 
Springs, and Carlisle. The people wished him to go to 
England for ordination. He remained there two years 
as a postulant, and was ordained in 1755, and came back 
as a Missionary of the Society for Propagating the 
Gospel in Foreign Parts, which Society still blesses the 
world in advancing the Kingdom of Christ. Mr. Barton's 
work extended over York, Adams and Cumberland 
Counties, as they are now divided. He also visited 
other settlements to administer the rites and sacraments of 
the Church. He desired to Christianize the poor Indians 
who came in his way. When they came to Carlisle to 
sell furs and the skins of deer, he invited them to his 
services, and instructed those, who could understand 
English, in Christ's Gospel ; and the Episcopal Church 
still goes on in the same good work. The Indians at 
times brought their companions, and the Missionary's 
hopes were rising that many might be drawn to their 
Lord and Saviour, when the French and Indian War 
broke out, and destroyed his benevolent plans. 

For ten years Mr. Barton held this parish, and then 
took charge of St. James's Church, Lancaster, though 
he still officiated frequently at York. He started the 



york (c.) st. johx's. 289 

services of the Church at Columbia. When the Rev- 
olutionary War came, as an English churchman, he 
thought he could not take the oath of allegiance to this 
country, and resigned his post at Lancaster, and went to 
the British at New York, and died there at the age of 
fifty, in 1780. He left many children and some of them 
were famous. Mr. Barton's action in clinging to the 
Home Government was doubtless a conscientious one, as 
he deemed his ordination oath still binding, and many 
other English clergymen in this country felt as he did; 
but some considered themselves free to act according to 
their own sense of duty in the emergency. Such cases 
of conscience must be settled for each individual for 
himself, and it is hard to put ourselves in the place of 
this missionary at this distance of time and with such a 
different education and surroundings. We must give him 
great credit for his hard toil in a day of hardships for his 
blessed Master. A longer account of this good man and 
some of his descendants may be found in the sketch of 
St. James's Church, Lancaster, in this volume. 

In 1760, the Rev. William Thompson brought letters 
from the Propagation Society Secretary, Dr. Bearcroft, 
certifying his appointment to succeed Mr. Barton in the 
missions of York and Cumberland. Immediately after 
leaving his ship, he sat in a Convention of Clergy, in 
Philadelphia. Huntington, in York County, now York 
Mills, York and Carlisle were under the care of Mr. 
Thompson. There w r ere two glebes belonging to the 
mission, but they were uncultivated. The income was 
small and Indian incursions on the frontiers, with killing 
and scalping, made settlement dangerous. Over 1500 
plantations were left, and the people crowded into the 
interior of the province for refuge. The Missionary 
brought his wife to Carlisle, where every hut was filled 



290 york (c.) st. john's. 

with helpless women and children, and an invasion of 
the enemy was feared, and all faces showed melancholy 
and despair. Trouble continued for months, in 1 763. 
There was confusion and disorder, farmers and others 
fleeing, some sleeping in the open air, and needing food. 
There were daily alarms and butcheries, though there 
were delightful services when the Missionary reached 
his parishioners by dangerous travel, and found them 
glowing with love of country and religion. Compare 
in your minds your comfortable homes and well-filled 
tables to-day. In 1764, the missionary returned to his 
plantation. He mentions two Quaker families as having 
been received into the Church. 

In 1762, Mr. Thompson reports from Carlisle, that he 
preached on weekdays among the scattered members of 
the Church of England at great distance from his 
churches. Different denominations attended in numbers, 
and seemed better disposed to the Church than before. 
He found association a means of removing their false 
notions of the Church. He says, "We have with the 
greatest difficulty raised a very convenient stone church, 
in Carlisle, and covered it in a genteel manner." Money 
was lacking to finish the inside at once, as the fund was 
exhausted, and many members had given beyond their 
means. 

In 1768, the church in Carlisle was almost com- 
pleted. The people at York Town proposed to erect a 
commodious church in the Spring of the next year. The 
parishioners in the extensive mission had given due at- 
tendance at service, which the Missionary had rendered 
in fatigue of heat in summer and cold in winter. In 
1769, Trenton applied for the services of Mr. Thompson, 
as Rev. Dr. William Smith writes. In 1 771, he is spoken 
of as receiving a library for Trenton. These libraries 



york (c.) st. johx's. 291 

were very important at a time when religious books 
were very scarce. 

In 1765, Rev. Dr. John Andrews succeeded Mr. Barton; 
he was zealous and a good manager, and began to raise 
funds for a church building, in 1 7 6 5- Mr. Thomas Men- 
shall was to receive subscriptions. Some who were not 
Church of England people kindly contributed, though 
the amount that they gave was not considerable, when 
compared with that obtained from the parishioners. 
Money, timber and hauling were mentioned as the gifts 
of those outside of the congregation. Philadelphia and 
Lancaster added their contributions. "By very great 
exertions the Church" was built, and nearly paid for. 
" The ladies of York then subscribed for hangings for 
the pulpit and desk, which were made up by them- 
selves of Crimson Damask." 

The Rev. Dr. Peters, once rector of Christ Church, 
Philadelphia, secured the ground for the church by his 
influence. ''The warrant was granted to Samuel John- 
ston, and Thomas Menshall, Esqs., and to Mr. Joseph 
Adlum, trustees of the congregation." Mr. Johnston 
and Mr. Adlum directed the construction of the build- 
ing. In 18-10, the church was altered, and a gallery 
built, and a fine and costly chandelier, which was pre- 
sented by St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, was placed in 
the church. The church has been enlarged at various 
times, so that the present building does not look like 
the original one, though it has a portion of the old walls. 

The Rev. Dr. Andrews continued his work in York 
and Cumberland Counties, from 1765 to 1772, and then 
took charge of St. James's Church, Bristol, Pennsylvania. 
I add to Mr. Powell's narrative that an account was given 
of him in the Appendix to my book, the Early Clergy 
of Pennsylvania and Delaware, He was ordained in 



292 YORK (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 

England, though a native of Maryland. He was success- 
ful in church work at Lewes, Delaware. His ministry at 
York was a happy one. He held Carlisle with York. 
His wife was Elizabeth Callender. He moved to Mary- 
land, but returned to York and opened a school. He 
showed hospitality to Major Andre when he was in 
York, on parole. He strove to induce the leading 
Methodist preachers to unite with the church. He was 
Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. This worthy 
clergyman and eloquent preacher was buried in Christ 
Church graveyard, Philadelphia. In 1774, Rev. Daniel 
Batwell succeeded Dr. Andrews. In the first year of his 
pastorship, Queen Caroline, of England, sister of George 
the Third, and wife of the King of Denmark, gave the 
church a bell, and, as there was no tower, it was put on 
the pavement of Joseph Updegraff, Esq., in Centre 
Square, where it remained for some time. It was after- 
ward hung in the tower of the State House, where it was 
rung on Sundays, at the appointed hours of service at 
the English Episcopal Church. When the news of the 
Declaration of Independence reached York, the bell was 
on the pavement, but w 7 as raised by James Smith, a 
signer of the Declaration, and other townspeople to the 
court house cupola, where it proclaimed the glad tid- 
ings as its first service. It was kept in the State House 
from 1776 to 1841, when the building was demolished. 
It long served church and State, calling Congress 
together in 1777 and 1778, when York was the National 
Capital. For seventy years it summoned the courts, and 
on Sundays called men to worship God in Christ. Its 
clear and sweet tones were dear to the citizens. When 
the State House was demolished, the authorities of the 
church in the face of strong opposition seized the bell, 
and hid it under the church, and after the excitement 



york (c.) st. john's. 293 

had passed a belfry was built on the church, and the 
bell was hung in it. It was soon afterward cracked, but 
was sent to Baltimore for recasting, and still does its 
sacred work, being almost as historic as the Liberty Bell 
in Philadelphia. 

Mr. Batwell, in the Revolution, bravely prayed for 
King George, but his loyality to the English crown 
awoke persecution, and he was dragged from his house, 
and thrice plunged into Codorus Creek in one day. The 
old creek ran along quietly under its bridges when I 
visited York, as if it had never seen so violent a sight. 
Let us hope that it has forgotten it as it has sung so 
many spring and harvest hymns since. When Mr. Bat- 
well returned to his home at Huntingdon, armed men 
from York brought him back and put him in prison on a 
frivolous charge of concernment in a conspiracy to des- 
troy the Continental magazine in Pennsylvania. He 
memorialized Congress at York on the 2d of October, 
1777, asking release, and the physician, Dr. Jameson, 
sent a certificate, stating that he "was so emaciated by a 
complication of disorders, that his life would be en- 
dangered, unless he was removed from the said jail." 
The petition was referred to the President and the 
Supreme Executive Council of the State, but the mis- 
sionary was allowed to remove from jail, "and received 
every indulgence, yet still remaining in safe keeping. 
After some time he was released from custody." Mr. 
Batwell returned soon to England, where he was 
rewarded by the King with a good parish in which he 
served until his death. 

I append a sketch of Mr. Batwell, which I prepared 
for the Sunday-school Association which met at Para- 
dise in June, 1890. 

The Rev. Daniel Batwelle was among those who had 



294 york (c.) st. john's. 

difficulties in mission work in Revolutionary times. 
Rev. Dr. William Smith writes to the Secretary of the 
Propagation Society concerning him. He preached 
on a fast-day in the Governmental troubles which pre- 
ceded the Revolution in 1775, and also signed a letter to 
the Bishop of London, with other clergy, on* the state 
of the times. In 1776, Samuel Johnston, a lawyer hold- 
ing position under the Colonial Government of England, 
speaks of the church at York, as " one of the most ele- 
gant little churches in this or pet haps any other province 
in America. The ladies subscription for Crimson 
Damask hangings which they made up themselves, did 
them honor while it was no small addition to the orna- 
ments of the church." 

Dissenters were pleased with Mr. Batwelle, (the name 
is written with a final "e,") and took seats in the church. 
Trouble concerning Government matters however, arose 
at York and Carlisle, as Mr. Batwelle was a royalist. 
After he had leit York, he returned with "Rev. Mr. Adams, 
(the late Missionary), to supply his family with some 
necessaries," and when about to depart, a number of Ger- 
mans seized the bridle of his horse, declaring that the 
animal had been stolen. Providentially, the man from 
whom it was bought was at hand, and denied this. They 
pretended that "they would show him the right owner," 
but cruelly took him to the stream running through the 
town,Codorus Creek,and dipped him in its water "several 
times," and made him ride over twelve miles in his wet 
clothes. The better class of people disapproved of this 
act, but the Courts of Justice were shut and there was 
no hope of present redress. Mr. Batwelle had dissuaded 
Revolutionary measures, but in those days others acted 
in like manner, for the Americans were not a unit in this 
matter, as history shows. However, in war, blind rage 



york (c.) st. john's. 295 

often gets the ascendant. This Missionary improved 
the glebe at York during his incumbency. 

We return to Mr. Powell's narrative. The parish at 
York, after Mr. Batwell's departure was vacant until 
1784. It is thought likely that when the future Bishop 
White \vas chaplain of Congress, services were held, 
either in the church or State House. Dr. White was 
then rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia. He certainly 
conducted the services where the church people could 
attend them. For a time he was a -guest of Rev, Mr. 
Kurtz, who was the minister of Christ Lutheran congre- 
gation. He undoubtedly performed the funeral service 
when Philip Livingston died at York, while Congress 
was in session. This gentleman was a signer of the De- 
claration. The consecration of Dr. White took place 
in 1787, and he visited York as a Bishop for fifty years. 

In 1784, Dr. White asked the Church Wardens and 
Vestry, at York, in behalf of the clergy and a commit- 
tee of laity, to send one or more delegates on the 24th 
of May to Philadelphia, to assist in proposing a plan of 
Church government for Episcopalians in the United 
States. The letter was sent to Col. Thomas Hartley. 
He and Thomas Bailey and William Johnson, were the 
delegates chosen ; but it is not known whether they at- 
tended the meeting, which a few years after culminated 
in " the establishment of our national branch of the 
the Church Catholic." 

In 1784, Rev. John Campbell became rector of this 
parish. He was the first one to give his entire time to 
the parish, and he toiled here successfully and faithfully 
for twenty years, building up the Kingdom of Christ, 
He soon planned the building of a.rectory on a piece of 
ground opposite the church, which had been procured 
from the proprietors in 1777. The rectory and academy 



296 york (c.) st. john's. 

were built in 1787, and for both he collected funds mainly 
in Philadelphia and Baltimore and Lancaster. The 
Academy was under the church for twelve years, but as 
the parish appears to have been weak about the close of 
the last century, the support of the State was asked, 
and that body appointed a Board of Trustees which still 
rule the institution. In 1804, Mr. Campbell resigned 
this parish and became rector of Carlisle, where he 
ministered until his death. 

The Rev. John Armstrong was rector from 1810 to 
1818. The church was first altered and the gallery built 
in this rectorship. The rectory was repaired, and the sex- 
ton's house was built. In 18 12, a class of seventy per- 
sons was confirmed. Mr. Armstrong resigned in May, 
1818, removing to Frederick, Maryland, becoming rec- 
tor of "a church and congregation in that vicinity. ,, 

From 1818 to 1819, Rev. Grandison Aisquith was rec- 
tor. He moved to Baltimore. From 1819 to 1822 the 
rectorship was vacant. In 1818 and 1819 Samuel Bacon 
was Secretary of the Vestry. He was a classical teacher 
in the academy, and was afterward in the Navy, and be- 
came a lawyer in York. He founded the first Sunday- 
school in this county, and owing to his great exertions 
there were twenty-six Sunday-schools in the county. 
He was ordained deacon by Bishop White, and became 
a missionary of the Bible Society, traveling in different 
States and establishing Sunday-schools. He went to 
Africa as an agent of the United States in the first 
colony of the Colonization Society. This good man 
died of a fever at the English settlement called Cape 
Shilling, in 1830, at the age of thirty-eight. He died in 
Christian hope in a foreign land, and deserves honor 
there and at home for his courageous furtherance of the 
truths of Christ's religion. A bright, earthly future 



YORK (C.) ST. JOHN'S. 297 

opened before this talented young man when he began 
life, but he chose "the better part," and in Paradise he 
does not regret his choice. 

From 1821 to 1823, Rev. George B. Schaeffer was 
minister of St. John's, York. 

From 1823 to 1825 Rev. Charles Williams was rector. 
He was born and educated in England where he was 
ordained deacon. He was a relative of Chancellor Thur- 
low. He had charge of Huntington, (now York 
Springs), as well as York. He was successful and the 
church at York increased under his care. He left York 
to become President of Baltimore College. 

From 1826 to 1829, Rev. Richard D, Hall was rector. 
(See Bristol in this volume.) 

From 1829 to 1831, Rev. John V. E. Thorn was rec- 
tor. He lived near Carlisle, and served the parishes at 
Carlisle and York. Hon. Richard Rush, Minister to 
England, was a vestryman in 1831 and 1832. He was 
also Minister to France, and President Adams made 
him Secretary of the Treasury. 

From 1834 to 1836, Rev. Benjamin Hutchins was rec- 
tor. He served gratuitously for nearly a year, and gave 
the parish a Sunday-school library, "and furnished 
prayer-books and Bibles for the use of the church." 
"The church was thoroughly repaired." In 1835, a 
silver Communion service was presented to the church 
"by Henry J. Hutchins, Esq., of Philadelphia, the father 
of the rector." He lived for a time in York, and was a 
vestryman. (See Lancaster in this volume.) 

From 1836 to 1838, Rev. Walter Franklin held the 
rectorship. Bishop Kerfoot, then a teacher in St. Paul's 
College, Flushing, Long Island, was a friend of Mr. 
Franklin, and after his ordination in 1837 visited him, 
and preached his first sermon in St. John's Church, and 
20 



298 ■ york (c.) st. john's. 

performed his first marriage ceremony here; uniting in 
holy matrimony, the Rev. Mr. Franklin, and Miss 
Catharine Days. The mother and brothers of the 
bishop lived in York "for several years." Mr. Franklin 
once had a school for young ladies at Newark, Dela- 
ware, and was rector of St. Thomas's Church in that 
place. 

From 1838 to 1840, Rev. Edward Waylen was rector. 
The name of the church was then St. John the Baptist. 
In 1840, Mr. Waylen was granted a leave of absence "to 
visit his family in England, and it does not appear that 
he returned." He issued a book in 1846, called, "Ec- 
clesiastical Reminiscences of the United States." 

Rev. John H. Marsden officiated monthly during the 
winter, and in March, 1841, was called to the rectorship. 
He held York Springs also. He closed his connection 
with York parish in 1844, but lived at York Springs 
until his death, which occurred a few years since. He 
was "a practising physician." (See Gettysburg.) 

Rev. John W. Hoffman was rector from 1844 to 1849. 
The church building was repaired. The rector was 
allowed to build a wooden building for school use on the 
rectory lot at his expense, and the parish was to have 
the use of it on Sundays, but the plan was not carried 
out. 

From 1849 to 1866, Rev. Charles West Thomson was 
rector. He had been assistant minister at Grace Church, 
Philadelphia, and that parish generously aided the York 
parish at first, with regard to the salary in his new post. 
His success was remarkable. The church was enlarged, 
and the parish had never, in the remembrance of the 
vestry,, been more prosperous. In 1851, Thomas A. 
Robinson presented a marble font. He had formerly 
lived in the parish. The same year, Mr. Daniel Ken- 



york (c.) st. john's. 299 

dig, of this parish, applied for deacon's orders. He 
taught in a school near York. (See Chester.) This 
was a church boarding school for boys under the care of 
Mr. Bland, an Englishman. In 1853, a Sunday-school 
house was built. The next year, John C. Eccleston, M. 
D., of Maryland, was ordained here by Bishop Potter. 
In 1856, Mrs. Susan Birkhead, of Baltimore, gave the 
church a silver chalice. In 1862, the church was en- 
larged. In 1866, Mr. Thomson resigned, but lived in 
York until his death, in 1879. He was buried in Pros- 
pect Hill Cemetery. The ''beautiful mural tablet" in the 
church was placed there by friends in his parish and in 
Philadelphia. Mr. Thomson was of Quaker descent, and 
was in the United States Bank in Philadelphia. Bishop 
Potter ordained him when he was about forty years old. 
He was a poet of ability, and a volume of his poems was 
published. "He was most direct and forcible" in preach- 
ing, and was an honorable, "firm and true" Christian. 
"His wife was a niece of the Historian Prescott. She 
survived him but a year. 

From 1866 to 1873, Rev. William P. Orrick, D. D., 
was rector. He kept up the prosperity which had 
marked Mr. Thomson's rectorship, His "character and 
ability won the esteem, not only of his own congrega- 
tion, but also of the entire community." "The present 
parish building was erected in 1869." In 1873, Dr. 
Orrick resigned to take the rectorship ofChrist Church, 
Reading, which is now the Cathedral, of which he is 
Dean. 

From 1873 to 1874, Rev Octavius P. Perinchief was 
the rector of this church. He was at the head of a 
Young Ladies' Seminary, and lived at Cottage Hill. "He 
was a man of commanding ability as a preacher, and of 
unblemished character as a pastor. His health was 



300 york\c.) st. john's. 

very infirm, and he resigned the parish after a year's 
incumbency." He was for a time at his former parish 
at Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, and at Mount Holly, New 
Jersey. His biography and sermons were published. I 
recollect this hearty worker and loving man as a fellow- 
student in Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. He 
was a student at the General Theological Seminar}-, in 
New York City. His manner was always affectionate 
and cordial, and he was a man of great heart. He was 
a native of the Bermuda Islands. (See Upper Merion 
in this volume.) 

From 1874 to 1877, Rev. Edward Lothrop Stoddard 
was the rector of St. John's. He became rector of St. 
John's Free Church, Jersey City Heights, which position 
he still holds. "The parish continued its prosperous 
growth under Mr. Stoddard's care." 

In 1877 and 1878, Rev. William T. Wilson was rector. 
"He was rector of the parish but a year; but he won the 
admiration of all through his sterling worth and con- 
spicuous abilities." His health was delicate, and he 
returned to his former parish, of King's Bridge, in the 
suburbs of New York. He died in 1890, at the age of 
fifty-eight. He was a graduate of Yale College, and of 
the General Theological Seminary in New York City. 
He was associate rector of St. Peter's, Albany, with Dr. 
Tatlock. For the last twelve years of his life he was the 
rector of the Church of the Mediator, at King's Bridge. 
He was a useful clergyman, scholarly, modest and retir- 
ing. I recollect him as a very thoughtful student at the 
General Theological Seminary and as a pleasant man of 
kindly impulses. I believe that he was assistant minister 
at St. Peter's Church, in Twentieth Street, New York, 
under Rev. Dr. Beach for a time. 

Rev, Dr. Tatlock, Secretary of the House of Bishops, 



york (c.) st. john's. 301 

communicates the following sketch concerning Mr. Wil- 
son at the request of the author of this volume. 

His sphere was the pulpit, and personal pastoral effort, 
especially among men. His sermons were strong, and 
deeply interested the strong men who listened to them 
in Albany. The congregation was largely made up of 
public and professional men. He captivated them by the 
grace of his diction, and the peculiar charm of his voice 
and manner, and impressed them by the force and 
clearness of his thought, and elevated them by the nobil- 
ity of his sentiment. Far more than that, his appeals to 
the individual conscience were startling by their power 
and pungency, and the pulpit of Albany has never rung 
with clearer, manlier, or more prophetic utterances on 
questions involving public right and wrong. He was 
truly an educator in morals. More even than this — he 
had, even then, a power of spiritual insight, a faith in the 
Divine Fatherhood, a grasp of human brotherhood in 
Christ, and such an utterly simple and settled personal 
faith in the Incarnation and Redemption, that he stirred 
and awakened the spiritual appetencies and capacities 
of men. They found, to their surprise and interest, that 
here was no cut-and-dried expounder of doctrines 
which they inertly accepted, and of duties which they 
acknowledged in a far-off way, but a living man who had 
thought their thoughts and felt their feelings, and was 
carrying them along lines of experience in which he 
knew the way. 

Each sermon was an event— he put^his life into it — the 
preparation for it was long and earnest, its delivery was 
a concentrated, though utterly unconscious effort of the 
whole man. He had a voice of very unusual quality — 
with considerable carrying power; there was also a sweet- 
ness and mellowness, a capacity for varied expression, 



302 york (c.) st. john's. 

and especially a pathos or capacity for feeling, which I 
have never heard excelled. His appearance in the pulpit 
was one which awakened interest — of very slight figure, 
with well-shaped head and mobile features, there came 
a glow upon the countenance and a light into the eye 
that marked the natural orator without the arts of ora- 
tory. For, he was utterly free from self-consciousness; 
he had just two thoughts possessing him, of his subject 
and of his hearers — never a thought of himself. 

I said that Wilson's sphere, besides the pulpit, was in 
pastoral dealing with men. It was his wont, as the time 
for confirmation drew near, to single out some few prom- 
inent men who had never taken a definite Christian 
position, and visit them for strong and serious presenta- 
tion of religious duty. I may not mention names, but 
the recollection comes back to me of not a few such men 
on whom his personal influence was a power for good, 
who met manfully his manly appeals to conscience, whose 
doubts and reluctances were cleared away, and who, 
under his guidance, entered the Kingdom of God as little 
children, and adorned their profession in consistent 
public and private Christian lives. Such labors as these 
were an inspiration to his strong and forceful nature, 
and the quality of his work in this respect told upon the 
church and the community. Bishop H. C. Potter gave 
a beautiful tribute to Mr. Wilson, in The Churchman, 
June 28, 1890. 

From 1878 to 1882, Rev. Henry W. Spalding, D. D., 
held the rectorship. The parish grew rapidly under him. 
He labored efficiently, and "his faithful wife" contributed 
by her work to his success. The Diocesan Convention 
met in the parish in his rectorship in 1881. Dr. Spalding 
went from this parish to Grace Church, Jersey City, and 
in 1885 removed from that place to accept the rectorship 




ST. JOHN S CHURCH, YORK. 

At the present time, 1891. 



york (c.) st. john's. 303 

of Christ Church, Janesville, Wis. (He is now rector of 
Grace Church, in Lyons, in the diocese of Western New- 
York,) I add later notes to date. 

In 18S2, on the 12th of June, Rev. Arthur Chilton 
Powell entered on the rectorship. He came from the 
Church of the Atonement, at Riverside, Cincinnati. St. 
John's Church was enlarged during his successful rec- 
torship, and re-opened on Easter Day, 1883. The alter- 
ations and improvements were very extensive. For eight 
months the services were held in the parish building, 
while the improvement was in progress. A new organ 
was built. There were new gas fixtures, and a new car- 
pet, and new windows of stained glass, "so that while 
including the old church edifice it was practically a new 
building." On the 15th of April, 1885, Bishop Howe, 
assisted by Bishop Rulison, and "in the presence of" 
Bishop Dunlop, of Xew Mexico, and the clergy of the 
Harrisburg Convocation, consecrated the church. Rev. 
Dr. J. H, Eccleston was the preacher. The congrega- 
tion grew in Mr. Powell's day, and in 18S3, a male choir 
was introduced, comprising men and boys. "A chantry 
or choir-room was erected in 1885," for use in practice. 
A parish library was founded in 1886. A Guild was 
organized in the early part of this rectorship. On the 
nth of November, 1888. Mr, Powell resigned the rector- 
ship. This rector was born on the 22d of July, 1854, in 
Dayton, Ohio, and graduated at the High School in 
j 872, and at Amherst College, in 1876, (M. A.,) and at 
the Philadelphia Divinity School, in 1879, (B. D.). He 
was rector of the Church of the Atonement already 
mentioned from 1879 to 1882. He was Dean of Harris- 
burg Convocation in 1887 and 1888. He became rector 
of Grace Church, Baltimore in 1888. He was ordained 
deacon in Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, June 19th, 



304 york (c.) ST. john's. 

1880, by Bishop Jagger, of Southern Ohio, and priest in 
Christ Church, Dayton, Ohio, May 13th, 1881, by the 
same bishop. 

The pamphlet of Mr. Powell which I have condensed 
to bring York parish into line with its sister parishes in 
this volume, deserves to be reprinted and illustrated as an 
attractive and useful memorial in the parish. I regret 
that space forbids even an abbreviation of the notices of 
Thomas Hartley, Esq., who as a soldier, statesman and 
churchman, deserves remembrance. He studied law 
under Samuel Johnson, another member of this parish, 
and was Colonel in the Revolutionary Army. He was 
a member of Congress and beloved and honored by his 
fellow citizens. He is* supposed to have entertained 
Washington when he passed through York, near the 
close of the last century, and attended service at St. 
John's. This statesman was'buried in St. John's church- 
yard, and Rev. Mr. Campbell gave an eloquent tribute to 
his memory. His grave is now within the walls of the 
church of which he was a warden. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Miller, is another brave 
Revolutionary hero here noticed. He was in various 
battles, and was Sheriff of York County, and Chief Bur- 
gess of York, and Prothonotary. Washington made him 
Supervisor of the Revenue for Pennsylvania. In the 
war of 18 1 2 he was a Brigadier-General. He died at 
Carlisle. He was a communicant and vestryman at St. 
John's, and a devout Christian. 

Major John Clark was noted as a soldierand a church- 
man. He was an intimate friend of General Washington, 
and there is a tradition that he entertained him at York. 
Major Clark was a vestryman, and a warden. He died 
in 1 819, and was buried "in front of the church, in the 
corner of the church lot." One of his daughters left a 



york (c.) st. john's. 305 

legacy to the parish, and Dr. Alexander Small left 
another one. William and Samuel Johnston, Joseph 
Adlum, Robert Jones, and William Baily are noted by 
Mr. Powell as being memorable names in the parish. 
James Smith was a lawyer of note in the parish. Such 
a history it is here argued deserves a worthy future to suc- 
ceed it. God has richly blessed the parish in the past 
generations; may He bless it more richly in the coming 
ones. 

He has given you a faithful and active rector, in my 
friend the Rev. William George Ware, w r ho is now the 
Spiritual head of the parish. He was born in Salem, 
Mass., March 8th, 1850, and educated at the University 
of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Divinity School. 
He was ordained by Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, 
July 3d, 1874, a t Grace Church, in Providence. Bishop 
Howe ordained him to the priesthood, May 4th, 1876, at 
St. Paul's Church, Troy, Pa. He was rector of Troy, and of 
Calvary Church, Wilmington, Delaware, and assistant 
to Dr. Currie, at St. Luke's Philadelphia, and was rector 
of St. James's Church, Downingtown, and St. Paul's, 
Wellsboro, Pa., before taking charge of St. John's 
Church, York, which he did on the first of May, 1889. 
May the rectorship auspiciously begun, long continue to 
the glory of God, and the benefit of the flock of Christ, 
to which it is his high privilege to minister. 



OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



The Morning's of the Bible 

By REV. S. F. HOTCHKIN. NIGHT SCENES IN THE 
BIBLE have inspired grand volumes. In this volume it will be seen that 
MORNINGS OF THE BIBLE are no less interesting. A work, highly 

original and unique, and is a series of delightful surprises. It beams with 
quotation, sparkles with illustration, and charms with learned variety The 
morning scenes become so many glories which impart a sense of enchantment. 
As an appeal to the reverential spirit it is a work of unsurpassed power. One 
seldom meets with so much wealth of thought and sentiment in a single work. 
224 pages, 15 engravings, cloth, 81.00. 

"This volume of brief discourses was suggested by and follows to some ex- 
tent the plan of Bishop Lee's 'Eventful Nrghts of Bible History,' and Dr. 
Daniel Marc 's ' Night Scenes in the Bible.' With his wonted facility Mr. 
Hotchkin illustrates each theme with apposite quotations from ancient and 
modern literature, and draws edifying lessons from natural phenomena and 
every-day experien-e. The book is aNo pic tori ally illustrated. It will be an 
acceptable Sunday book in many households."— Standard of The Cross. 



Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware. 

By Eey. S. F. HOTCHKIX, M. A. Cloth SI. 00. 

" The ' Early Clergy * is a decided understatement of the subject matter of 
the Rev. Mr. H >tchkin*s book. Its scope is early and late also, as it takes ac- 
count of latter-day divines, such as Bishops Davies, Whitaker and Nichols and 
the late Rev. Henry J. Morton, the beloved Rector Emeritus of st. James's 
Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, whose parishioners and friends 
have recenty felt his loss. Believing that the religious press should perpetuate 
the memory of the soldiers of Christ, the writer undertook the task of search- 
ing into the history of the Swedish clergy, as in provincial days parts of Penn- 
sylvania and Delaware were included in ' Xew Sweden.' From the first settle- 
ments at Tinicum, Wicacoa and Wilmington, the narrative widened out to 
include a history of the Bishops of Pennsylvania and Delaware ; sketches of 
Christ Church, St. Peter's, St. James's, St. Paul's Churches, and that of the 
Epiphany, Philadelphia ; Trinity Church (Oxford), and the Delaware clergy. 

"The sketches contain an abundance of anecdote and reminiscences illus- 
trating the history Of various parishes."— Philadelphia Ledger. 

Sent by mail postage paid on receipt ot price. Both books sent for 
11.50. 

P. W. ZIEGLER & CO., Publishers, 

720 Chestnut St.. Philadelphia. 



